Insider Weekends: Dolf Berle Acquires Shares Of Lindblad Expeditions

Welcome to edition 571 of Insider Weekends. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $46.04 million of stock purchased compared to $78.75 million in the week prior. Selling increased to $2.26 billion compared to $1.63 billion in the week prior. While insider purchases declined overall, the kind of insider purchases that made the list were interesting this week, including Lindblad Expeditions as discussed below.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week went up to 49.08. In other words, insiders sold more than 49 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week when the ratio stood at 20.75.

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However, metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (PFSI): $60.9

Director Farhad Nanji acquired 46,990 shares of this mortgage finance company, paying $62.67 per share for a total amount of $2.94 million. These shares were purchased indirectly by MFN Partners, LP.

This latest set of purchases put Mr. Nanji on our list for a fourth week in a row. With this latest group of purchases, he has acquired $174.12 million worth of shares at an average price of $61.12. The company has also been buying back shares and shares outstanding have declined from 82.01 million to 73.12 million.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. here.

2. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (FFIN): $51.66

Director Murray Hamilton Edwards acquired 29,765 shares of this regional bank, paying $50.85 per share for a total amount of $1.51 million. Mr. Edwards increased his stake by 18.53% to 190,417 shares with this purchase.

Mr. Edwards has been an independent director of First Financial since 2006 and has bought shares several times over the years. His largest group of purchases before this one was an 8,000 share purchase in March 2020 purchased indirectly through a trust at an average price of $26.98. This purchase dwarfs that opportunistic purchase in March 2020 but may not necessarily be as bullish as that one because he also gifted 29,765 shares. In essence this purchase appears to be a way for him to replenish his stake in the company following the gift.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. here.

3. Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (LIND): $17.23

CEO Dolf A. Berle acquired 36,500 shares of this expedition cruising and adventure travel company, paying $17.45 per share for a total amount of $636,974. Mr. Berle increased his stake by 166.27% to 58,452 shares with this purchase.

When I first looked at this insider purchase earlier this week, I came away unimpressed and didn’t quite understand why Mr. Berle was buying shares. When I looked at this profile, I noticed that he took on the role of CEO at Lindblad last month. He previously served as the CEO of Topgolf Entertainment and as the President and COO of Dave & Buster’s (PLAY) before that. The common thread of this career has been entertainment companies whether it was as the President of bowling company Lucky Strike Lanes or as the COO of House of Blues Entertainment. Callaway Golf completed its acquisition of Topgolf in March 2021 and Mr. Berle is off to another adventure at a company that is focused on entertainment and experiences. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1985 and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1991.

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings is a company that provides unique adventures across the globe often in partnership with National Geographic. Trips range from a guided trip through the Amazon rainforest aboard skiffs or the Galapagos on the National Geographic Endeavour II. A new CEO at the helm is exactly what this company needs after the COVID-19 pandemic brought this unique company to a standstill during much of last year. Even before the pandemic, while revenue grew in 11% to $343.1 million in 2019, very little of that made its way to the bottom line.  The tailwinds of a post-pandemic reopening, consumer emphasis on experiences over consumption and an experienced CEO could bode well for the company in the years to come.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. here.

4. Monro, Inc. (MNRO): $62.01

CEO & President Michael T. Broderick acquired 10,000 shares of this automotive undercar repair provider, paying $62.24 per share for a total amount of $622,362. Mr. Broderick increased his stake by 25.00% to 50,000 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Monro, Inc. here.

5. WEX Inc. (WEX): $204.01

Director James R. Groch acquired 3,000 shares of this financial technology services provider, paying $201.75 per share for a total amount of $605,250. Mr. Groch increased his stake by 119.86% to 5,503 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for WEX Inc. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. Walmart Inc. (WMT): $141.85

Shares of Walmart were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Robson S. Walton sold 3,458,530 shares for $141.45, generating $489.21 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.
• Executive Vice President Judith J. McKenna sold 15,000 shares for $141.14, generating $2.12 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Walmart Inc. here.

2. Snap Inc. (SNAP): $61

Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel sold 1,223,534 shares of Snap for $61.30, generating $75 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Snap Inc. here.

3. Facebook, Inc. (FB): $330.35

Shares of Facebook were sold by 2 insiders:

• COB and CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 204,772 shares for $329.90, generating $67.56 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by various entities.
• VP and General Counsel Jennifer Newstead sold 250 shares for $330.23, generating $82,558 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Facebook, Inc. here.

4. Roblox Corporation (RBLX): $99.57

Shares of Roblox were sold by 3 insiders:

• President & CEO David Baszucki sold 375,000 shares for $96.21, generating $36.08 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by a trust.
• Director Christopher Carvalho sold 75,000 shares for $94.98, generating $7.12 million from the sale. 35,000 of these shares were sold indirectly by a trust.
• Principal Accounting Officer Brett Tolley sold 50,637 shares for $95.95, generating $4.86 million from the sale. 637 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Roblox Corporation here.

5. Unity Software Inc. (U): $95.08

President and CEO John S. Riccitiello sold 229,372 shares of this real-time 3D development platform for $93.90, generating $21.54 million from the sale. 12,248 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Unity Software Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.

The list of all insider purchases and sales by management people is only available to InsideArbitrage Premium and Plus members.

Disclaimer: Please do your own due diligence before buying or selling any securities mentioned in this article. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the content or data provided in this article.