The best time to buy a stock is when the people running the company are themselves genuinely optimistic about its future prospects. Exelis Inc (NYSE:XLS), The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), and First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) are the three companies where insiders, by putting their own money in the stocks, have recently shown that they are bullish on the companies.
Exelis Inc (NYSE:XLS) is a $3.18 billion market cap (based on last closing price) global information, defense, aerospace and services company. It was spun-off from ITT Corp (NYSE:ITT)’s defense business in October 2011 into a separate publicly traded company. The company operates six different businesses, which include Electronic Systems, Mission Systems, Geospatial Systems, Aerostructures, Information Systems and Night Vision & Communications Solutions. On October 2, Exelis Inc (NYSE:XLS)’s CEO & President, David F. Melcher bought 5,000 shares of the company for $15.97 per share. Including this purchase, Melcher now owns 660,533 shares of Exelis Inc (NYSE:XLS). Other large investors in the company includes Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, which as of June 30, 2014, owns over 2 million shares of Exelis Inc (NYSE:XLS).
The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) is a $6.54 billion market cap (based on last closing price) paint and coatings manufacturing company. It was founded over 200 years ago as a paint dealership and is currently sixth largest paint and coating manufacturing company in the world. M John Ballbach, a director as The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL) acquired 2,500 shares of the company at a price of $77.41 per share on October 2, 2014. With this purchase, Ballbach now owns 9,737 shares of The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL). Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D.E. Shaw’s firm, D.E.Shaw are two large investors that are bullish on this stock as well. As of June 30, 2014, Citadel Investment Group owns over 1.1 million shares of The Valspar Corporation (NYSE:VAL), while D.E. Shaw owns over 900,000 shares of the company.
First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) is a $1.19 billion market cap (based on last closing price) financial holding company. It started as a single bank in Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1968 and as of 2006, operates 49 branches with 130 ATMs in Wyoming and Montana. H Theodore Williams, a director at the company purchased 1,000 shares of First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK) on October 1, 2014 for $26.65 per share. After including the current purchase, Williams now owns 6,697 shares of First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK). Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technology and Cliff Asness’ Aqr Capital Management are two large investors , who as of June 30, 2014, own 311,300 and 346,689 shares respectively of First Interstate Bancsystem Inc (NASDAQ:FIBK).
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