Insider Trading 05 September 2014: GrubHub, Concho Resources Selling

by Asif Suria

Insider buying increased last week with insiders buying $22.81 million of stock compared to $18.96 million in the week prior. Selling decreased with insiders selling $725.84 million of stock last week compared to $932.22 million in the week prior.

Sell/Buy Ratio: The insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week dropped to 31.82. In other words, insiders sold almost 32 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares favorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 49.17.

We are calculating an adjusted ratio by removing transactions by funds and companies and trying as best as possible only to retain information about insiders and 10% owners who are not funds or companies.

Insider Sell Buy Ratio September 5, 2014

Note: As mentioned in the first post in this series, certain industries have their preferred metrics such as same store sales for retailers, funds from operations (FFO) for REITs and revenue per available room (RevPAR) for hotels that provide a better basis for comparison than simple valuation metrics. However metrics like Price/Earnings, Price/Sales and Enterprise Value/EBITDA included below should provide a good starting point for analyzing the majority of stocks.

Notable Insider Buys:

1. Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ): $13.19

Chairman Emeritus Thomas G. Cousins sold 260,000 shares of this diversified REIT for $12.75, generating $3.32 million from the sale.

Cousins Properties first showed up on my radar back in mid-2011 following a group of insider purchases by the CEO. It is interesting to see Mr. Cousins buy stock at prices that are more than 20% higher than most of his sales from March through July last year as you can see here.

This REIT that invests in apartment buildings, office buildings and shopping centers in several southern states sports a yield of 2.4%, which is well below the 4.06% yield of all diversified REITs as of September 4, 2014.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Cousins Properties Incorporated here.

2. Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO): $32.92

Chairman of the Board German Larrea Mota-Velasco acquired 50,000 shares of this copper mining company, paying $32.56 per share for a total amount of $1.63 million. Mr. Velasco increased his stake by 6.10% to 869,367 shares with this purchase.

This is the third week in a row we have reported insider purchases by Mr. Mota-Velasco.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Southern Copper Corp. here.

3. Conns Inc. (CONN): $29.01

Director Scott L. Thompson acquired 26,100 shares of this specialty retailer of home appliances, paying $30.09 per share for a total amount of $785,329. Mr. Thompson increased his stake by 203.26% to 38,941 shares with this purchase.

This purchase follows a sharp decline in Conns’ stock, which lost nearly 36% of its value last week after posting disappointing results on account of an increase in provisions for bad debt.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Conns Inc. here.

4. Bob Evans Farms, Inc. (BOBE): $43.81

Shares of this restaurant chain were acquired by 3 insiders:

• CEO/COB Steven A. Davis acquired 15,000 shares, paying $43.12 per share for a total amount of $646,810. Mr. Davis increased his stake by 3.21% to 482,359 shares with this purchase.
• Director Charles M. Elson acquired 2,300 shares, paying $43.50 per share for a total amount of $100,050. Mr. Elson increased his stake by 99.01% to 4,623 shares with this purchase.
• EVP Supply Chain Management Richard D. Hall acquired 356 shares, paying $43.73 per share for a total amount of $15,567. Mr. Hall increased his stake by 1.17% to 30,751 shares with this purchase.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Bob Evans Farms, Inc. here.

5. Opko Health, Inc. (OPK): $8.51

CEO & Chairman Phillip Frost M.D. acquired 65,000 shares of this medical devices and drug development company, paying $8.73 per share for a total amount of $567,223. These shares were purchased indirectly by Frost Gamma Investments Trust.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Opko Health, Inc. here.

You can view the full list of purchases from this Insider Buying page.

Notable Insider Sales:

1. GrubHub Inc. (GRUB): $39.75

Shares of this online restaurant delivery service were sold by 4 insiders:

• Director Benjamin C. Spero sold 2,138,257 shares for $40.25, generating $86.06 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by the Spectrum Funds.
• President Jonathan Zabusky sold 298,801 shares for $40.25, generating $12.03 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Brian P. McAndrews sold 46,954 shares for $40.25, generating $1.89 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Margo Drucker sold 25,612 shares for $40.25, generating $1.03 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for GrubHub Inc. here.

2. Concho Resources, Inc. (CXO): $135.72

Shares of this oil & gas exploration company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Senior VP of Exploration Matthew Glover Hyde sold 37,302 shares for $140.57, generating $5.24 million from the sale. 30,555 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Exec VP & Chief Operating Officer Joseph E. Wright sold 36,863 shares for $134.86, generating $4.97 million from the sale. 4,363 of these shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Senior VP & CFO Darin G. Holderness sold 15,000 shares for $140.00, generating $2.1 million from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Concho Resources, Inc. here.

3. Workday, Inc. (WDAY): $90.07

Shares of this application software company were sold by 3 insiders:

• Chief Executive Officer Aneel Bhusri sold 115,938 shares for $89.14, generating $10.34 million from the sale.
• VP, General Counsel & Secretary James P. Shaughnessy sold 8,000 shares for $89.35, generating $714,798 from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.
• Director Christa Davies sold 1,970 shares for $88.28, generating $173,918 from the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for Workday, Inc. here.

4. DineEquity, Inc. (DIN): $83.6

Director Howard M. Berk sold 125,000 shares of this restaurant chain for $83.58, generating $10.45 million from the sale. These shares were sold indirectly by MSD Capital, L.P.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for DineEquity, Inc. here.

5. The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX): $61.15

Shares of this discount retailer were sold by 2 insiders:

• Director Bernard Cammarata sold 130,000 shares for $60.00, generating $7.8 million from the sale. 80,000 of these shares were sold indirectly through a trust.
• President Ernie Herrman sold 25,000 shares for $59.80, generating $1.49 million from the sale. These shares were sold as a result of exercising options immediately prior to the sale.

You can view the list of recent insider transactions for The TJX Companies, Inc. here.

You can view the full list of sales from this Insider Sales page.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/asifsuria