Insiders Have Bought Exxon Mobil, Macy’s, and More

A Form 4 filed with the SEC disclosed that multiple insiders have purchased shares of Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE:CBB) within the last week or two. Multiple insiders buying a stock has been found to be a somewhat stronger predictor of outperformance, though of course not 100% reliable. Learn more about consensus insider purchases. The telecommunications company has a market capitalization of about $680 million, though over 5 million shares are traded per day and so there is plenty of volume. We would note that the forward earnings multiple is a bit high at 21, and short interest is high as well.

The CEO and President of GrafTech International Ltd (NYSE:GTI), a $1.1 billion market cap industrial materials company specializing in graphite and other carbon products, has been buying the company’s stock at prices around $7.30 per share. The stock is down 37% in the last year and earnings have been poor as well; even after the decline, the most recent data shows that 19% of the outstanding shares are held short. Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates was a major shareholder in GrafTech at the end of December, reporting a position of almost 19 million shares.

Skullcandy Inc (NASDAQ:SKUL), another small cap stock though also one with sufficient dollar volume for most investors (on average about 900,000 shares are traded per day and the current market price is over $5.50), had a company officer buy 15,000 shares on March 14^th. The electronic peripherals company (best known for its headphones) is another stock which has plunged in the last year (down 62%) and is a short target with almost 30% of outstanding shares held short. Earnings were down slightly last quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 despite a rise in revenue, and with further expected declines it trades at 14 times consensus earnings for 2014.

Disclosure: I own no shares of any stocks mentioned in this article.