Three Companies with Prominent Insider Buying and Two Companies Registering Massive Insider Sales

Most market participants usually perceive insider buying much more informative and important than insider selling, and rightly so. While directors and executives are almost always buying shares in their own companies because they anticipate better times ahead, insiders can sell shares for a wide array of reasons that may not be related to their companies’ current developments or future prospects. Insider trading watchers should keep in mind that insiders could be selling shares simply to raise capital for personal needs, but that does not necessarily mean all insider sales are not informative. Clusters of insider selling, which usually involves three or more insiders, may serve as a strong signal that a company’s market value is approaching or even exceeding its so-called fair market value. Having this in mind, the following article will discuss several noteworthy insider purchases and sales disclosed with the SEC on Monday.

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The Man in Charge of This Struggling Crude Oil Refiner Keeps Buying Shares

Western Refining Inc. (NYSE:WNR)’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff A. Stevens, purchased 75,000 shares on Thursday, 25,000 shares on Friday and 50,000 shares on Monday at prices that ranged from $20.75 to $23.00 per share. Following the recent purchases, Mr. Stevens currently owns a stake of 3.45 million shares.

The shares of the independent crude oil refiner and marketer of refined products are down a massive 41% since the beginning of 2016, partly owing to a disappointing first-quarter earnings report. Western Refining Inc. (NYSE:WNR)’s top- and bottom-line figures missed analysts’ estimates by a wide margin mainly because of lower-than-normal gasoline margins. Nonetheless, the management claims the second quarter is showing promising signs of improvement as gasoline demand continues to be strong and southwest U.S. gasoline margins continue their recovery from their February lows. Grisanti Brown & Partners, managed by Christopher C. Grisanti, trimmed its stake in Western Refining Inc. (NYSE:WNR) by 12% during the March quarter to approximately 228,000 shares.

Let’s head to the next two pages of this article, where we will discuss several insider purchases and sales registered at four companies.

This Metal Packaging Supplier Witnessed Insider Buying for First Time in Years

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) had not witnessed any insider buying for quite some time until last week. Board member Hanno C. Fiedler purchased 7,000 shares on Friday at $71.77 apiece, which lifted his overall holding to 124,418 shares.

The supplier of metal packaging to the beverage, food, personal care and household products industries has seen its market value gain 10% in the past three months, but the stock continues to trade into negative territory for the year (down 1% year-to-date). Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL)’s net sales for the first quarter of 2016 were $1.76 billion, decreasing from $1.92 billion reported for the same quarter of 2015. The decrease in the company’s top-line results was mainly driven by the pass through of lower metal input costs, lower net pricing in China, currency headwinds and the completion of two U.S. government programs in the Aerospace segment. Higher metal beverage sales volumes partially offset the net sales decline. BlueCrest Capital Management, founded by Michael Platt and William Reeves, acquired a new stake of 63,926 shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) during the January-to-March period.

This BDC Had a Cluster of Insider Buying Earlier this Week

To start with, President and Chief Executive Officer of Triangle Capital Corporation (NYSE:TCAP), E. Ashton Poole, bought 26,300 shares on Monday at a weighted average price of $17.81, boosting his direct ownership to 170,083 shares. Mr. Poole also reported two additional purchases of 1,150 shares each, which are held by spouse separately for son and daughter. Moreover, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary Steven C. Lilly snapped up 6,000 units of common stock on the same day for $17.64 each, lifting his ownership to 249,620 units. Last but not least, Chief Investment Officer Brent P. W. Burgess bought 6,000 shares on Monday at a cost of $17.25 per share, which lifted his stake to 235,521 shares.

The shares of the business development company (BDC) that provides capital to lower middle market companies are 12% in the red in the past five trading sessions, after the company slashed its quarterly cash dividend to $0.45 per share from $0.54. This was the first dividend decrease since the BDC went public in 2007, which did surprise most market participants. The $0.45 quarterly cash dividend equates to a hefty current annual dividend yield of 12.51%. Bruce Silver’s Silver Capital Management LLC owns 80,048 shares as of March 31.

This Energy-Services Holding Company Had President Offload Shares Last Week

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)’s President, Mark A. Snell, discarded 50,000 shares on Friday at prices varying from $103.64 to $104.20 per share, cutting his overall holding to 72,908 shares. Sempra Energy operates as an energy-services holding company that develops and operates energy infrastructure, as well as provides gas and electricity services in North and South America. The San Diego-based company has seen its shares advance 11% since the start of the year, which may somewhat justify the insider sale.

Earlier this month, Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) said the estimated cost of a natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage facility near Los Angeles more than doubled to $665 million, of which 70% is reserved for a temporary relocation program as locals have been forced to temporarily relocate due to the biggest natural gas leak in U.S. history. A total of 15% of that figure is reserved for attempts to control the well, stop the leak, stop and reduce emissions, and other related efforts. BlueCrest Capital Management had 11,160 shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) in its equity portfolio at the end of March.

Pool Corporation Has Seen Several Executives Offload Shares in Recent Weeks

According to a Monday Form 4 filing, Arthur D. Cook, Group Vice President at Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL), sold 20,454 shares on Thursday at a price of exactly $88.00 per share. After the recent transaction, Mr. Cook continues to own a stake of 75,451 shares. Kenneth G. St. Romain, another Group Vice President at Pool, discarded 22,000 shares in late April at prices that fell between $88.59 and $89.69 per share, which trimmed his ownership to 101,616 shares.

The shares of the wholesale distributor of swimming pool and related backyard products are up 11% year-to-date, extending the one-year market value gain to 35%. Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL)’s net sales for the first quarter grew 14% year-on-year to $515.3 million due to continued strength in consumer discretionary spending and favorable weather. Warmer weather across most seasonal markets have kicked off the pool season earlier-than-expected. Earlier this May, the company’s Board approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per share, which is higher by 19% than the previous quarterly dividend. As a result, Pool Corporation currently boasts a dividend yield of 1.38%. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reported ownership of 638,742 shares of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) through the latest round of 13Fs.

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