Insider Trading Activity that May Create Short-Selling Opportunities

Moving on to Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS), whose President and Chief Executive Officer James P. Keane sold 50,000 shares earlier this week at prices in the range of $18.91-to – $19.12. After this sizable sale, the executive currently owns 620,702 shares. Ignoring the numerous ups and downs experienced by Steelcase’s stock throughout this year, one can say that it has delivered a relatively weak performance so far, as it has inched up by 4% year-to-date despite facing two major pullbacks. Just a few weeks ago, the manufacturer of furniture settings, user-centered technologies, and interior architectural produces, reported better-than-expected financial results for the second quarter. Even though Steelcase experienced setbacks in its European operations, the company still managed to deliver earnings growth of 6.7% year-over-year, thanks to the strong Americas business. The company posted revenue of $819.0 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.30, compared to $786.7 million and $0.24 reported a year ago. Royce & Associates, founded by Chuck Royce, reported owning 1.78 million shares of Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) in the last round of 13F filings.

Last but not least, let’s examine the insider sales at Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE:HRL). Executive Vice President Steven G. Binder reported the sale of 10,000 shares at a price of $64.85 apiece, all of which were held by Spouse’s Revocable Trust. Following the transactions, the trust fund owns 61,867 shares. The executive also holds a direct ownership stake of 5,727 shares, along with an additional 95,000 shares held indirectly. The shares of Hormel have had a great performance over the past five years or so, returning more than 183% over this period. This year has not been bad either, considering that the stock has advanced 22% year-to-date and is currently trading near an all-time high. Therefore, it is no surprise that Binder’s trust is cashing out a portion of its holdings. It is not entirely clear who stands behind this decision, but it appears to be the right one given the current state in equity markets. Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management added a 1.16 million-share position in Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE:HRL) during the June quarter.

Disclosure: None