CEO’s of Popular Pizza-Delivery Chain and Hotel REIT Offload Shares, Plus Insider Buying at 3 Companies

Board Member at Struggling Dollar-Store Chain Purchases Some Shares

Let’s now have a look at the first insider purchase of 2016 at Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG). Board member William C. Rhodes III snapped up 5,000 units of common stock on Friday at prices ranging from $76.27 to $76.32 per unit, lifting his direct ownership stake to 10,213 units of common stock. Mr. Rhodes also holds an indirect ownership stake of 23,597 shares, held through a trust fund.

Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG), one of the largest discount retailers in the United States, has lost 17% of its market cap in the past month after releasing disappointing financial results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2016 ended July 29. The company revealed that year-over-year sales growth in existing stores fell to 0.7% in the second quarter from 2.2% recorded in the previous quarter. Dollar General blamed changes to food stamp programs around the nation for its weak second quarter sales, as well as falling food prices and intensifying pricing competition. Dollar General shares are 7% in the green thus far in 2016. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the owner of 522,900 shares of Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) at the end of June.

Non-Executive Chairman of Strong-Performing Homebuilder’s Board Buys More Shares

One corporate insider at Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH) has been on a buying spree this month, so let’s have a look at his most recent transaction. Non-Executive Chairman Stephen P. Zelnak purchased 13,649 shares on Friday at a price of $10.50 per share, boosting his overall holding to 278,087 shares.

The shares of the diversified homebuilder have enjoyed a great run since late-June, with the stock being up by nearly 60% since June 27. Even so, Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH)’s stock is down by 4% for the year. The company performed quite well during the three-month period ended June 30, with closings increasing to 1,364 from 1,293 recorded in the same period of the prior year. The increase in year-over-year closings, along with a 4% increase in average selling prices, led to a 9.7% increase in homebuilding revenue, to $451.0 million. The number of hedge funds followed by Insider Monkey that were invested in the homebuilder fell to 11 from 14 during the second quarter. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, owns 1.42 million shares of Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE:BZH) as of June 30.

The final page of this article will discuss the noteworthy insider selling recently reported at two other companies.