Insiders Have Been After These Stocks

Daniel Heneghan, a Board member at wireless communications company NTELOS Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:NTLS), bought almost 7,600 shares on December 3^rd at an average price of $13.34 per share. The company’s earnings were down strongly in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2011, and the stock price is down 34% as well. As with HP and AK Steel, it’s possible that the stock is seeing insider buying because of a belief that it has been too beaten down by the market. NTELOS trades at 10 times forward earnings estimates.

The CEO of Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp (NYSE:WMC) purchased about 5,300 shares at an average price of $20.74. Billionaire Israel Englander’s Millennium Management increased its stake in the REIT, which invests in mortgage-backed securities, during the third quarter (see Englander’s favorite stocks). As might be expected for an REIT, it pays a very good dividend yield and we’d also note that its P/B ratio is low. However, investors might be better off looking at other REITS with a longer history as a public company or at large-cap companies which pay high dividend yields, such as Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO).

A limited liability company tied to one of Cardtronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CATM)’s Board members bought 3,000 shares at an average price of $22.97 per share. Cardtronics operates automated teller machines, principally in retail locations, and has a number of licensing and other arrangements with banks through which the banks’ customers do not pay fees to use the ATMs. Its most recent quarter showed revenue and net income up by over 20% versus a year earlier, but with the stock carrying a trailing P/E of 26 it’s possible that the market is overestimating how well the company can sustain that level of growth. Read our discussion of Cardtronics.