What Triggered The Strong Insider Selling At These 3 Companies?

Let’s now take a look at the insider selling activity at energy company Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG). Ralph A. LaRossa, President and Chief Operating Officer of Public Service Electric and Gas Company, offloaded 19,217 shares on Thursday through multiple transactions at prices ranging from $42.60-to-$43.39. After the recent sales, the executive currently holds a stake of 97,889 shares. The shares of the energy company have recovered from the August sell-off, advancing by over 12% since the beginning of September. On October 14, PSEG Solar Source, a subsidiary of PSEG Power (a merchant power generation company part of the Public Service Enterprise Group family of companies), announced the completion of the PSEG Waldorf Solar Energy Center’s construction. The freshly-built facility has a capacity of 13.1 MW-dx and increases the capacity of PSEG Solar Source’s portfolio to 148 MW-dc. To sum up, it would be faulty to link the executive’s move to any firm-specific issues, but the sharp rally of the stock since the beginning of September might serve as a potential explanation. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management reported owning 5.88 million shares in Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG) through its 13F filing for the June quarter.

Finally, U.S-based furniture company Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) saw two insiders sell stock last week. Lizbeth S. O’Shaughnessy, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary, sold 40,000 shares on Friday at a weighted average sale price of $19.67. She currently holds a 160,280-share stake valued at $3.19 million. Additionally, David C. Sylvester, who has been serving as Chief Financial Officer since October 2006 and Senior Vice President since April 2011, sold 15,700 shares last Monday at prices ranging from $19.68-to-$19.72, reducing his stake to 293,278 shares. The shares of the furniture company have been on an uptrend since late-August, generating a year-to-date return of nearly 11%, excluding dividends. Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) anticipates its third quarter revenue to be in the range of $800 million-to-$820 million, which yields a revenue growth rate of 3%-to-5% year-over-year. It seems that the strengthening U.S economy and the tightening labor market contributed to the company’s increased orders in the second quarter, so it remains to be seen what the company discloses in the upcoming third quarter earnings report. Robert Polak’s Anchor Bolt Capital acquired a 500,000-share stake in Steelcase Inc. (NYSE:SCS) during the June quarter.

Disclosure: None