Brink’s Company (BCO) Witnesses Insider Buying amid Leadership Overhaul, Plus Four Other Companies Registering Noteworthy Insider Activity

With investor worries about the outcome of the upcoming U.K. referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or not, last week’s dollar volume of insider buying fell by roughly 40% week-over-week. As the consequences of a potential Brexit are largely unknown, the CBOE Volatility Index, usually referred to as the VIX, reached a four-month intraday high of nearly 23 on Thursday. This suggests that uncertainty is extremely high in financial markets at the moment, so stock market volatility will likely remain high ahead of the referendum.

Meanwhile, last week’s dollar value of insider selling decreased slightly relative to the previous week, but the decrease was rather small relative to the massive drop in insider buying activity. Irrespective of how much uncertainty exists in financial markets at this point in time, investors would be wise to keep an eye on insider buying. Generally corporate insiders buy shares in their own companies because those shares seem to be trading at a bargain. Having this in mind, the following article will discuss three companies that recently registered notable insider buying, as well as list two other companies with noteworthy selling.

Academic research has shown that certain insider purchases historically outperformed the market by an average of seven percentage points per year. This effect is more pronounced in small-cap stocks. Another exception is the small-cap stock picks of hedge funds. Our research has shown that imitating the 15 most popular small-cap stocks among hedge funds outperformed the market by nearly a percentage point per month between 1999 and 2012 (read more details here).

Security-Related Services Provider Has Two Influential Insiders Purchase Shares This Month

Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) has seen two corporate insiders purchase shares so far this month. The most recent transaction was conducted by Board member George I. Stoeckert, who purchased a new stake of 7,300 shares on Wednesday at prices that ranged from $29.13 to $29.22 per share. More importantly, freshly-appointed President and CEO, Douglas A. Pertz, bought a block of 83,696 shares for $29.87 each on June 9 and got into possession of 18,126 restricted stock units on the same day, boosting his overall ownership to 103,472 shares.

Mr. Pertz replaced Mr. Stoeckert, who served as interim CEO for a short period following the retirement of Thomas C. Schevelbein in early May. Mr. Schevelbein stepped down after the provider of transportation and logistics management services reached a settlement agreement with Jeffrey Smith’s Starboard Value LP in January, under the terms of which Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) offered the activist firm three seats on its Board of Directors. The shares of the provider of security-related services are up a little less than 1% since the beginning of 2016. Starboard Value LP had 4.58 million shares of Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO) in its portfolio at the end of March.

Licensor of Lifestyle Brands Sees Chairman Buy Shares

Jess M. Ravich, Chairman of Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE)’s Board of Directors, purchased 13,130 shares on Wednesday at a weighted average cost of $12.70. After the recent purchase, Mr. Ravich, Board member since May 1995 and Chairman since January 2011, currently holds an ownership stake of 238,746 shares.

The global licensor of style-focused lifestyle brands for apparel, footwear, home products and accessories has lost one-quarter of its market value since the start of 2016. Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE), which mainly derives revenues from licensing trademarks to retailers, posted revenues of $10.68 million for the three months that ended April 30, up from $10.23 million recorded for the same period of the previous year. The increase was partially driven by the acquisition of the Flip Flop Shops brand in October 2015, as well as higher Cherokee royalties. Jeffrey Bronchick’s Cove Street Capital was the owner of 1.28 million shares of Cherokee Inc. (NASDAQ:CHKE) on March 31.

Let’s head to the second page of this insider trading article, where we will discuss the noteworthy insider trading activity registered at three other companies.

Maker of Forest Products Has Board Member Buy Shares

Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE:RFP) had not seen any insiders buy shares for a few years until last week. Michael S. Rousseau, member of the company’s boardroom, bought 20,000 shares on Wednesday at prices varying from $5.15 to $5.19 per share, lifting his overall holding to 59,032 shares.

The self-named leader in the forest products industry, selling a wide array of products such as market pulp, tissue, wood products, newsprint and specialty papers, has seen its market capitalization plummet by 32% year-to-date. Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE:RFP) recently filed a lawsuit against non-governmental environmental organization Greenpeace for its “Resolute: Forest Destroyer” campaign that criticizes the company’s forestry practices. The company’s sales for the first quarter of 2016 fell by 5% year-over-year to $877 million, mainly due to lower prices for wood products. The average transaction price for market pulp was 10% lower than a year ago, while average prices for newsprint and specialty papers were 9% and 5% lower, respectively. Michael Johnston’s Steelhead Partners owns nearly 6.00 million shares of Resolute Forest Products Inc. (NYSE:RFP) as of March 31.

Manufacturer of Products for Medical Applications Has Chairman (and Former CEO) Sell Shares

One of Atrion Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRI)’s most informed insiders sold some shares this past week. Chairman Emile A. Battat, who also served as CEO from October 1998 to May 2011, sold 3,000 shares on Wednesday at prices that ranging from $420.00 to $424.00 per share and 130 shares on Thursday at $427.00 apiece. Following the recent sales, Mr. Battat currently holds an ownership stake of 145,043 shares.

The shares of the developer of fluid delivery devices, and ophthalmic and cardiovascular products for medical applications are 11% in the green year-to-date. Atrion Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRI)’s revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $36.2 million, down 5.5% year-over-year due to the strong greenback and the commoditization of an ophthalmic product. Meanwhile, the company’s bottom line decreased to $6.9 million from $7.6 million reported a year ago. Atrion currently pays shareholders a quarterly cash dividend of $0.90 per share, which equates to an annual dividend yield of 0.84%. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies LLC has 28,000 shares of Atrion Corporation (NASDAQ:ATRI) among its holdings as of the end of March.

This Oil and Natural Gas E&P Has CEO Unload Some Shares

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR)’s President and CEO, Michael G. Moore, discarded 20,000 shares on Wednesday at prices that fell between $32.95 and $32.96 per share. After the recent sale, Mr. Moore continues to own 226,175 shares.

The U.S. independent oil and natural gas E&P company has seen its shares advance by 33% since the beginning of the year. Earlier this month, analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ and lowered the price target on the stock to $33 from $37, small infrastructure growth observed at most Northeast natural gas producers. However, improving prices are anticipated to “keep some positive momentum in the natural gas-levered producers”. The hedge fund sentiment towards Gulfport Energy increased during the first three months of 2016, as the number of funds from our system with stakes in the company jumped to 43 from 30 during the quarter. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global owns 11.38 million shares of Gulfport Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:GPOR) as of the end of the first quarter.

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