What Do Insiders Have to Say About These 3 Companies?

Moving on to the next potential winner, PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) has seen one insider consistently acquire stock over the past month or so. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Patrick J. Rusnak purchased 2,400 shares on Friday at a price of $44.75 each and currently owns 51,650 shares. The CFO bought an additional 4,800 shares in October at prices between $42.49 and $43.09 per share. The shares of the holding company for Pacific Western Bank are nearly 1% in the red year-to-date, but they have embarked on a wobbly uptrend since the end of August. Just recently PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) reported its third-quarter financial results, posting net earnings of $69.6 million, compared to $85.1 million reported a year ago. It is also worth pointing out that the stock is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 15.92, noticeably below the median of over 22 for the S&P 500 companies. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management reduced its stake in PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) by 21,231 shares during the September quarter, remaining with 2.19 million shares.

Severn Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:SVBI), the holding company for Severn Savings Bank, saw two different insiders acquire stock last week. Director John A. Lamon purchased 500 shares on Thursday at a price of $5.28 per share, enlarging his stake to 50,750 shares. Furthermore, Director Konrad M. Wayson also acquired 1,000 shares this Friday at $5.2 apiece and currently holds 26,025 shares. Severn Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:SVBI)’s stock is up 14% year-to-date and appears to be fairly priced at the moment, considering its P/E ratio of 21.63. The company recently posted third-quarter net income of $1.23 million or $0.06 per share, compared to $1.07 million or $0.05 per share reported in the same quarter a year ago. At the same time, the bank’s non-performing assets have reached their lowest level in the past few years, which displays that its management has been quite successful in growing and running the bank.

Disclosure: None