-
Insiders have been taking advantage of recent volatility to scoop up shares.
-
CEOs at American Eagle Outfitters, Sears Holdings and Hess have been among the notable buyers.
-
Strong insider buying is often taken as a positive sign for investors.
Tuesday's sell-off was another reminder that the recent volatility hasn't gone anywhere just yet. When the bargain hunters come out in force remains to be seen. However, it is clear is that insiders and beneficial owners are taking advantage of the turmoil.
Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10 percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. The third-quarter earnings reporting season has yet to begin, closing windows for many insiders, so it should be no surprise that executives, directors and others are leaping at newfound bargains.
American Eagle Outfitters
Executive chairman and interim CEO Jay Schottenstein purchased 500,000 American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) shares last week. At $15.74 per share, that cost him around $7.87 million. The retailer posted better-than-expected results for its most recent quarter.
Its market capitalization is about $3.2 billion and the dividend yield is about 3.1 percent. Shares dropped sharply in mid-August along with much of the market, and have yet to recover. The stock closed Tuesday at $16.28, so the buyer is already ahead.
See also: Now We Know Exactly How Much Tesla Stock Elon Musk Bought
Hess
The CEO and one director together recently bought about $7.90 million worth of Hess Corp. (NYSE: HESS), or 150,900 shares at between $52.27 and $54.55 apiece. The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands has sued Hess over an abandoned refinery.
This global exploration and production company has a market cap of about $14.7 billion and a dividend yield near 1.91 percent. Shares have been on the decline since early May and ended Tuesday's session at $51.15.
McGraw Hill Financial
Following the completion of the SNL Financial acquisition, the newly appointed president of the merged unit bought 16,500 shares of the parent company in two batches. Those shares ranged in price from $92.85 to $94.78, and the transactions totaled more than $1.55 million.
The market cap of McGraw Hill Financial Inc (NYSE: MHFI) is around $24.8 billion, and the dividend yield is about 1.4 percent. The share price ended most recently at $91.24, below the president's purchase price.
Opko Health
The chairman continues to buy batches of shares periodically, as he has done for more than a year. He picked up more than 127,000 Opko Health Inc. (NYSE: OPK) shares recently at prices between $10.02 and $10.41. That cost him more than $973,000. Jim Cramer recently suggested shares were oversold.