Insider Buying Week 3-3-23- This market doesn’t want to go down.

Despite the best efforts of banking emperors like Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan or all-knowing market strategists like Mike Wilson of Morgan Stanley, this stock market refuses to go down.  Last week’s market rally has already numbed the pain from February’s losses. The bulls are stomping their hoofed feet at the fences, dying to bust out.

 

 

Name: Russell J Weiner
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-03-02  Shares Bought: 3,333 Average Price Paid: $303.58 Cost: $1,011,840.00
Company: Dominos Pizza Inc (DPZ)

Domino’s is the world’s biggest pizza company, with over 19,800 outlets in over 90 countries as of January 1, 2023. It has two unique service models inside its restaurants, with a strong business in delivery and carryout. Established in 1960, Domino’s is a globally renowned brand that focuses on value while serving communities locally via a broad global network of franchise owners and U.S. Company-owned restaurants offering delivery and carryout services. The firm is largely a franchisor, with independent franchisees owning and operating nearly 99% of Domino’s worldwide locations as of January 1, 2023. A franchise allows a person to be their boss, completely controlling all employment-related problems and price choices. It also benefits from the power of Domino’s worldwide brand and operational system with little financial input from the business.

Russell Weiner has been the CEO of Domino’s Pizza since May 1, 2022. Before that, from July 2020 to April 2022, he was a chief operating officer and president – of Domino’s U.S., where he oversaw the Domino’s U.S. business as well as the global centers of excellence teams that support operations, development, marketing, innovation, analytics and insight, communications, and technology in more than 90 countries. Weiner was appointed COO and President of the Americas for the first time in July 2018. Weiner graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts in government and New York University’s Stern School of Business with an MBA in marketing and international business. He now serves on The Clorox Company’s board of directors.

Opinion: Domino’s Pizza has made a lot of delivery drivers rich if they purchased Domino stock with their tips. If an investor had bought $100 of DPZ stock 15 years ago, it would be worth $2,239.40 today based on a price of $324.27 for DPZ at the time of writing, although if you’re were unfortunate enough to buy it in the last three years, you would have made no money, the investor equivalent of a loaded specialty pizza arriving cold. 

The obvious question is where did all the cash go? Dominoes is highly profitable but loaded with debt. Although they have been steadily reducing their long-term debt, it’s currently a little over $3Billion. That’s a lot of pizza.

 

Name: Anastasia Minor
Position: Officer Under Sec. 16 Rules
Transaction Date: 2023-02-27  Shares Bought: 2,500 Average Price Paid: $107.50 Cost: $268,750.00
Company: Entergy Corp. (ETR)

Entergy Corporation is a company that produces and sells energy in the United States. Utilities and Entergy Wholesale Commodities are the company’s two segments. The utility division creates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including New Orleans, and distributes natural gas. The Entergy Wholesale Commodities sector owns, operates, and decommissions nuclear power stations, has stakes in non-nuclear power plants that sell electricity to wholesale consumers and offers services to other nuclear power plant owners. It creates energy using natural gas, nuclear power, coal power, hydropower, and solar power. The corporation sells energy to retail power providers, utilities, electric power cooperatives, power trading organizations, and other power-producing firms.

Anastasia Minor became chief transformation officer at Entergy Services on February 2023, LLC, and is in charge of the company’s superior performance and transformation office. Minor was senior vice president of strategy and financial planning before taking on her present post in February 2023, and before that, she was vice president of finance business partners since 2017. She led the team that offers the company strategic financial planning, analytics, and decision support to create long-term value. Before joining Entergy in 2017, Minor worked in senior capacities at DTE Energy, where she developed expertise in finance, strategy, and operations with utility, non-utility, and corporate business divisions. Minor has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan with a concentration in corporate strategy and finance and a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Kalamazoo College.

Opinion:  We’re pretty much a sucker for any insider buying in electric utility companies. Electricity consumption demand is going through the roof due to the EV revolution and just about the electrification of everything.  Utility stocks are very sensitive to interest rates, and they’ve been moving down in lockstep with them. I think the inverted yield tells us that rate rise is ending sooner than later. When it does, this group will rock- you have to buy now. 

 

Name: Kirk S Hachigian
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-03-01 Shares Bought: 10,000 Average Price Paid: $70.00 Cost: $700,000.00
Company: Nextera Energy Inc (NEE)

NEE is one of North America’s leading electric power and energy infrastructure corporations and a pioneer in the renewable energy market. FPL and NEER are NEE’s two main companies. FPL is the biggest electric utility in Florida and one of the largest in the United States. FPL’s strategy emphasizes investing in a generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure to deliver on its value promise of cheap customer bills, high dependability, exceptional customer service, and sustainable energy solutions. NEER is the world’s biggest producer of wind and solar energy and a global pioneer in battery storage. NEER’s strategic emphasis is on developing, building, and managing long-term contracted assets in the United States and Canada, particularly sustainable energy solutions such as renewable generating facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission lines.

Mr. Hachigian has served as a director of NextEra Energy since 2013. Mr. Hachigian was the chairman of the board of JELD-WEN Holding, Inc., a maker of windows and doors, from April 2014 until May 2019. From April 2014 until November 2015, he was also the CEO of JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. He was Cooper Industries plc’s chairman, President, and chief executive officer, a publicly traded electrical equipment and tool maker until Eaton Corporation acquired it in November 2012. Cooper appointed him chairman in 2006, CEO in 2005, and President in 2004. He is a director of PACCAR, Inc. (since 2008) and Allegion plc (since 2013).

Opinion: This is a repeat of what I said about ETR but with a much bigger renewables footprint and a much lower dividend. We’re pretty much a sucker for any insider buying in electric utility companies. Electricity consumption demand is going through the roof due to the EV revolution and just about the electrification of everything.  Utility stocks are very sensitive to interest rates, and they’ve been moving down in lockstep with them. I think the inverted yield is telling us that rise in rates is ending sooner than later. When it does, this group will rock- you have to buy now.

 

Name: Robert W Stallings
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-03-01  Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $65.24 Cost: $326,205.00
Company: Texas Capital Bancshares Inc (TCBI)

Texas Community Bancshares, Inc. was established in March 2021 to take over as the holding company for Mineola Community Bank, S.S.B. after Mineola Community Mutual Holding Company underwent a “Conversion” from a mutual holding company to a stock holding company. When making commercial real estate loans, Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. takes into account a number of variables. The business assesses the borrower’s credentials and financial situation, including their credit history, profitability, and level of experience, as well as the worth and condition of the assets used as collateral for the loan. The organization looks at the borrower’s financial resources, expertise in owning or managing similar property, and payment history with other financial institutions when assessing the borrower’s suitability. 

Robert William served as Independent Director at Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc from December 2001. Robert William Stallings, the founder of ING Pilgrim Capital Corp., is a businessman who has led five different firms and is Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Stallings Capital Group, Inc. Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc., MGA Insurance Co., Inc., Texas Capital Bank NA, and Crescent Realty, Inc. are all on Mr. Stallings’ board of directors. Mr. Stallings has previously served as Trust Manager at Crescent Real Estate Holdings LLC, Executive Chairman and Chief Strategic Officer at GAINSCO, Inc., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Resource Bank, NA, Chairman of ING Pilgrim Capital Corp., and Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim Capital Corp. Johnson & Wales University, Inc. awarded Robert William Stallings an undergraduate degree.

Opinion: For a while, I doubted the wisdom of following this insider, Robert Stalling. Take a look at the chart above.  TCBI has performed way better than its peers, as seen in the Regional Bank ETF KRE below

Name: Martin S. Harrell
Position: President Waterproofing
Transaction Date: 2023-03-01 Shares Bought: 3,850 Average Price Paid: $65.00 Cost: $250,250.00
Company: Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. (BECN)

Beacon is the largest publicly listed distributor of roofing goods and related building supplies in North America. As of September 30, 2021, the company, which has over 90 years of experience in the building sector, operates 446 branches in all 50 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. Over 80,000 residential and non-residential clients rely on the company’s wide selection of high-quality professional-grade exterior goods, which includes over 100,000 SKUs, to help them save time, operate more effectively, and grow their companies. Company stands out in the industry by offering clients smooth execution, useful innovation, and a hands-on approach that meets each customer’s unique demands. The company also works closely with its suppliers, who rely on it to help market their goods effectively and support improvements in goods and services that ultimately benefit the consumer.

Mr. Harrel joined Beacon Roofing Supply as President of Waterproofing in November 2022. Mr. Harrell is in charge of the Specialized Waterproofing Division. Before joining Beacon, he was CEO of Coastal Construction Products for eleven years. During his stint as CEO, he oversaw Coastal’s attempts to grow its reach and rebrand the Company. Previously, he was Director of Sales, overseeing the sales force and several jobs with growing responsibilities such as marketing, vendor partnerships, and branch management. He joined Coastal in 2000 as a general manager, managing the Company in several positions that resulted in considerable growth for the Company. He started his work as a Finance Trainee for the Circuit City Shops holding business. Mr. Harrell earned a Bachelor of Science in Business & Accounting from Wake Forest University in 1999.

Opinion:  I thought housing was in the tank but Beacon looks like it has plenty of gas.

Name: Larry Barden
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-03-01  Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $64.49 Cost: $322,450.00
Company: Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR)

Darling Ingredients Inc. was founded in 1882 by Swift meat processing businesses and the Darling family. The Company is a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients derived from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, offering a diverse range of ingredients and customized specialty solutions to customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, animal feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries. In fiscal 2022, the Corporation made significant acquisitions, including Valley Proteins in North America and the FASA Group in South America. The Company collects and transforms all aspects of animal by-product streams into usable and specialty ingredients, including collagen, edible fats, feed-grade fats, animal proteins and meals, plasma, pet food ingredients, organic fertilizers, yellow grease, fuel feedstocks, green energy, natural casings and hides.

Mr.Barden is a former partner of the multinational law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where he served as Chairman of the Management Committee (2014-2022) and a member of the Executive Committee (1999-2022). Over his 40-year legal career, Mr. Barden represented clients in various sectors on a broad range of public and private corporate transactions, both domestically and internationally. His primary work areas were mergers and acquisitions, securities/corporate finance, and strategic counseling/corporate governance. He has vast expertise in collaborating with boards of directors on complicated business transactions and governance and compliance issues. Mr. Barden is also on the boards of many civic and educational organizations.

Opinion: DAR missed 4th quarter earnings estimates and paid the price. Stifel analysts said the stock price reaction was overdone and reiterated a buy with a revised target price of $116. The CEO said on the earnings call, “Darling is not just participating in the circular economy; we are the circular economy.” That statement makes me nervous.

Name: Jeff Lawson
Position: Chief Executive Officer/10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-02-24 Shares Bought: 158,081 Average Price Paid: $63.26 Cost: $10,000,103.00
Company: Twilio Inc (TWLO)

Name: Donna Dubinsky
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-24 Shares Bought: 3,995 Average Price Paid: $62.72 Cost: $250,558.00
Company: Twilio Inc (TWLO)

Twilio Inc enables companies of all sizes and industries to change customer engagement. The top customer engagement platform is a collection of adaptable software and communications technologies that enable organizations to provide smooth, trustworthy, and engaging customer experiences at scale. The solutions’ value proposition has strengthened as more organizations prioritize generating better, more customized, and distinctive customer interaction experiences via digital channels. The company products have become more crucial to customers. CEP enables organizations to generate personalized solutions to connect their consumers at every stage of the customer journey through real-time, relevant, personalized messages sent over the customers’ chosen communication channels.

In January 2008, Jeff, founder of Twilio a serial innovator with over 15 years of business and product development expertise. Jeff was the Founder and CTO of NineStar, the Founding CTO of Stubhub.com, and the Founder, CEO, and CTO of Versity before co-founding Twilio. He was also one of Amazon Web Services’ first product managers. Jeff noticed the fundamental need for a platform for developers and businesses to construct communications-based business solutions in each of his businesses quickly. Jeff grew up in the Detroit suburbs, founded his first firm in middle school, and graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Film/Video.

Donna is a serial entrepreneur best known as the CEO of Palm Computing and later Handspring, the first successful handheld computers, and cellphones. Donna formerly worked for Apple and Claris, an Apple software company, for ten years in various sales, sales support, and logistical roles. In 2005, she co-founded Numenta with her long-time business partner, Jeff Hawkins. Numenta’s objective is to understand how the brain works and then utilize that knowledge to produce more powerful machine intelligence. Donna has a B.A. from Yale and an M.B.A. from Harvard Management School.

Opinion: Twilio stock ran up 17% since the date of this insider purchase.  Ponies want to run.

Name: Bradley Lee Soultz
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-02-27  Shares Bought: 5,000 Average Price Paid: $50.47 Cost: $252,325
Company: WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. (WSC)

WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Inc is a major business service supplier specializing in creative, flexible workspace and portable storage solutions. Customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale commerce, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, healthcare, and other end sectors rent modular space and portable storage units from the company. Customers may choose from a wide range of “Ready to Work” solutions that include value-added goods and services, such as the rental of stairs, ramps, furniture bundles, damage waivers, and other perks to enhance the entire customer experience. These turnkey solutions provide clients with flexible, low-cost, and timely solutions to satisfy their outsourced work space and storage demands.

Mr. Soultz is the CEO of WillScot Mobile Mini and served as President and CEO of WillScot before the merger. Before becoming President and CEO of WillScot in November 2017, he was President and CEO of WSII (January 2014-November 2017), where he was responsible for the strategic and operational aspects of WSII’s North American business, as well as assisting the company in preparing for its reemergence as a public company. Mr. Soultz was the Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer of Novelis Inc., the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, before joining WSII. He formerly held different senior positions in Europe and North America with Novelis and Cummins.

Opinion: I  missed this amazing stock run. It’s 1 yr return is up 42 %.  Insiders are still buying, albeit a borderline meaningless size buy.  Directors have been sellers.  The CEO has been buying regularly since 2019. The directors that are selling are leaving money on the table.

 

Name: Naren K Gursahaney
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-24 Shares Bought: 6,000 Average Price Paid: $47.91 Cost: $287,477.00
Company: Stericycle Inc (SRCL)

Stericycle is a worldwide provider of business-to-business services. The organization offers a wide range of highly specialized solutions that safeguard the health and well-being of the people and places around the company in a safe, responsible, and long-term manner. Since its inception in 1989, the company has evolved from a small start-up in medical waste management to a market leader in various increasingly complex and highly regulated arenas, serving healthcare organizations and commercial businesses of all sizes through Regulated Waste and Compliance Services and Secure Information Destruction Services. Stericycle’s family of brands provides consumers in the United States and 16 other countries with solutions to properly handle items that may otherwise transmit illness, pollute the environment, or jeopardize one’s identity.

Naren K. Gursahaney has been a director since January 2023. Mr. Gursahaney served as Chairman of the Board of Terminix Global Holdings Inc. from May 2019 to October 2022 and as a director from December 2017 to October 2022. From January 2020 until September 2020, he served as ServiceMaster’s Temporary CEO. He has been a private investor since 2016. From 2012 until 2016, Mr. Gursahaney was President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of The ADT Company, a major supplier of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses in the United States and Canada. Before ADT’s split from Tyco International Ltd. in September 2012, Mr. Gursahaney held different executive roles at Tyco International Ltd.

Opinion: 

Name: Thomas McConnon 
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-27  Shares Bought: 153,537 Average Price Paid: $45.39 Cost: $6,969,128.00
Company: Goosehead Insurance Inc. (GSHD)

Goosehead Insurance Inc., a fast-developing independent insurance firm, reinvents how personal lines products are sold nationwide. Because of the unique business approach and cutting-edge technical platform, the company can offer insurance customers a better experience. Insurance buyers want the right coverage for their risk tolerance at the greatest price, written with a reputable company that will respond quickly and fairly when a claim is filed. Clients recognize the benefit of having a knowledgeable agent explain and analyze coverages to aid them in making educated insurance purchase decisions. Clients will have various insurance requirements throughout their lifetimes, and the methodology allows the company to serve them at every stage of life. Independent agents usually employ outdated technology, resulting in insurance quotation delays and limited potential for customer connection.

Thomas Endel McConnon is on the board of Goosehead Insurance, Inc.  Mr. McConnon works at Wildcat Capital Management, LLC as managing director, head of public equities, and chief economist. Mr. McConnon is the head of Wildcat’s public equities investing team, which he joined in October 2018. From 2010 through 2018, Mr. McConnon served as the organization’s first Investment Partner at Indaba Capital Management. Mr. McConnon worked at TPG Capital as a Partner from 2004 to 2010. He specialized in large-scale private equity investment and served on Sabre Holdings, Creative Artists Agency, and Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort boards. Before joining Indaba, he was a Principal at TPG Capital. Mr. McConnon formerly held Bain Capital and The Boston Consulting Group positions. Mr. McConnon graduated from Stanford University with an MBA and an AB magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Opinion: I have no idea what’s happening here, but I am damn well going to try and find out.  Who wouldn’t want to dig deeper into a $7 million purchase by someone with the title of Head of Public Equities and Chief Economist working at WILDCAT CAPITAL MANAGEMENT? I have a feeling Mr. McCoonon is the wild cat.

 

Name: Wes Cummins
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-24  Shares Bought: 8,500 Average Price Paid: $43.55 Cost: $370,175
Company: Vishay Precision Group Inc. (VPG)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc. is a multinational corporation that specialises in precision measurement sensing technologies such as specialised sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems. Numerous precision measurement sensing products and solutions have been “designed-in” by customers to satisfy rising applications in a wide range of industries and markets. Company goods are sold under a range of brand names that the corporation believes are distinguished by a high degree of accuracy and quality, and the companies are managed via an operationally diverse structure. Vishay Intertechnology grew its sensor and measurement business via acquisitions in the decade before the spin-off, expanding the company’s original emphasis on precision foil resistors and foil strain gauges to encompass a variety of load cell-based products.

Mr. Wesley C. Cummins is an Independent Director at CalAmp Corp., a President at B. Riley Asset Management LLC, an Independent Director at Sequans Communications SA, and an Independent Director at Vishay Precision Group, Inc. from July 2017 to March 2021. He serves on the boards of CalAmp Corp., Sequans Communications SA, and Vishay Precision Group, Inc. Mr. Cummins has previously worked as an Independent Director for TeleNav, Inc., a Research Analyst for Nokomis Capital LLC, an Analyst for Harvey Partners LLC, a Research Director & Head-Capital Markets for B. Riley & Co. LLC, a Founder & Chief Investment Officer for 272 Capital LP, a President for Riley Investment Management LLC, an Analyst for Needham & Co., Inc., and an Analyst for Kennedy Capital Management, Inc. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Opinion: This is a travesty on my part. The stock has gone basically straight up with continued insider buying without proper analysis on my part.

Name: Sudhanshu Shekhar Priyadarshi  
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Transaction Date: 2023-02-27  Shares Bought: 20,000 Average Price Paid: $35.59 Cost: $711,800.00
Company: Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (KDP)

Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. is a significant North American beverage business with a diversified portfolio of flavored CSDs and NCBs, including water, RTD tea and coffee, juice, juice drinks, mixers, and specialty coffee, a leading manufacturer of innovative single-serve brewing equipment. KDP’s main brands include Keurig, Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry, Snapple, Mott’s, Clamato, Core, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and The Original Donut Shop, which provide a wide variety of hot and cold drinks to fulfill practically every customer requirement. KDP boasted some of North America’s most well-known beverage brands, with high levels of consumer awareness and extended histories that elicit strong emotional ties. According to IRi, KDP provides more than 125 owned, licensed, and partner brands, including the top 10 best-selling coffee brands and Dr. Pepper as a leading flavored CSD in the United States. These are accessible practically anywhere consumers purchase and enjoy beverages.

Sudhanshu Priyadarshi served as Chief Financial Officer at Keurig Dr. Pepper’s, overseeing the Finance and Information Technology departments. Sudhanshu will join KDP from Vista Outdoor Inc., a renowned worldwide designer, producer, and marketer of consumer goods in the outdoor sports and leisure industries, in November 2022. He served as Vista Outdoor’s Chief Financial Officer during strong organic and inorganic expansion. Sudhanshu began his career with PepsiCo, where he spent 14 years in financial and corporate strategy positions, including Chief Financial Officer of Global R&D and PepsiCo Global Nutrition Platforms. Sudhanshu is a Wabash Board of Directors member and a world-class provider of innovative engineering solutions and services for the transportation, logistics, and distribution sectors. He has a physics degree from India and an MBA in Finance from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Opinion: I’ve given up trying to read the tea leaves at this company. Some things just aren’t knowable, and why insiders continue to buy Keurig Dr. Petter is one of them.

 

Name: Scott M Brinker
Position: President and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-03-02  Shares Bought: 16,300 Average Price Paid: $23.63 Cost: $385,169.00
Company: Healthpeak Properties Inc (PEAK)

Healthpeak Properties, Inc. is a Standard & Poor’s 500 corporation that buys, develops, owns, rents, and manages healthcare real estate across the United States. The firm was established in 1985. The firm is incorporated in Maryland and is a self-administered REIT. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, and its offices are in California, Tennessee, and Massachusetts. The business started selling the senior housing triple-net and operational property portfolios in 2020. The business assessed that the proposed dispositions indicated a strategic change that has and would significantly impact operations and financial performance as of December 31, 2020. As a result, in all periods reported below, the assets are classed as ceased operations. The business completed the disposal of both portfolios in September 2021.

Mr. Brinker has been President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors since October 2022. Mr. Brinker was President and Chief Investment Officer from January 2019 to October 2022 and Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer from March 2018 to December 2019. Before that, he worked in several investment and portfolio management positions at Welltower Inc., a healthcare REIT, from July 2001 to January 2017, most recently as its Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Brinker acquired a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Opinion:

Name: Thomas L Jr Carter
Position: CEO/Chairman
Transaction Date: 2023-02-24 Shares Bought: 62,500 Average Price Paid: $15.44 Cost: $965,217.00
Company: Black Stone Minerals L.P. (BSM)

Black Stone Minerals L.P. is one of the United States’ biggest owners and managers of oil and natural gas mineral holdings. The company’s main activity is to actively manage and increase the value of current mineral and royalty assets while broadening the asset base through the purchase of new mineral and royalty holdings. The company adds value by letting people know about mineral properties that are available for lease, coming up with creative ways to structure lease agreements to encourage and speed up drilling, and carefully choosing which lessees to work with on a working interest basis. The company thinks that its wide range of assets and long-lasting, non-cost-bearing mineral and royalty interests will lead to consistent production and reserves over time. This will allow it to give unitholders the vast majority of its cash flow.

Mr. Carter served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the General Partner from November 2014 until June 2018. Mr. Carter started BSMC, which was the company before us. From 1998 to 2015, he was also President, CEO, and Chairman of Black Stone Natural Resources, L.L.C., which was BSMC’s previous general partner. Mr. Carter also established BSMC. Mr. Carter was the managing general partner of W.T. from 1987 until 1992. Carter & Bro., the forerunner of the general partner, and Black Stone Energy Company from 1980 to the present. Mr. Carter founded Black Stone Energy Company, BSMC’s operating and exploratory division, in 1980. From 1978 to 1980, Mr. Carter worked as a loan officer in the Energy Department of the Texas Commerce Bank in Houston, Texas. Before that, he had many other jobs starting in 1975. Mr. Carter earned a B.B.A. and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Carter has been a director of Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. since 2005. He has served as a trustee of St. Edward’s University since 2009.

Opinion:  The lithium battery and electric vehicle replacing the combustion engine may turn out to be one of the greatest and most costly fads in history. It’s not clear to me, from a physics point of view, energy density- that the lithium economy makes any sense. I think we will depend on oil and gas decades into the future.  If you share that view,  PBM is a great way to play it. At the same time, our largest position is in Albermarle, the best publicly traded U.S. company in the lithium business.  Don’t confuse what you want to happen with what will likely happen.

 

Name: Jon E Bortz
Position: Chairman and CEO
Transaction Date: 2023-02-28  Shares Bought: 16,300 Average Price Paid: $14.46 Cost: $303,632.00
Company: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (PEB)

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is an internally managed hotel investment company that was formed in October 2009 as a Maryland real estate investment trust to acquire and invest in hotel properties primarily in major US cities and resort properties near the primary target urban markets and select destination resort markets, with an emphasis on major gateway coastal markets. The Business has a stake in 51 hotels with 12,756 guest rooms as of December 31, 2022. Pebblebrook Hotel, L.P. owns almost all of the Company’s assets and manages all of the Company’s activities. The Operational Partnership’s only general partner is the Corporation.

Mr. Bortz has served as Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer since the company’s inception in October 2009. Mr. Bortz served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Trustee of LaSalle Hotel Properties, a publicly listed hotel REIT, from its inception in April 1998 until his retirement in September 2009. Mr. Bortz also served as Chairman of the Board of LaSalle Hotel Properties from January 1, 2001, until his retirement. Before establishing LaSalle Hotel Properties, Mr. Bortz formed the Hotel Investment Group of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated in January 1994. He handled Jones Lang LaSalle’s hotel investment and development operations as its President. Mr. Bortz has a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Opinion:

Name: Kelcy L Warren
Position: Chairman
Transaction Date: 2023-02-23  Shares Bought: 1,660,602 Average Price Paid: $13.05 Cost: $21,670,856.00
Company: Energy Transfer LP. (ET)

Energy Transfer LP, a Delaware limited partnership, trades its common units. Additionally, the corporation has assets in other companies, such as publicly listed master limited partnerships Sunoco LP and USAC. Cash flow for Energy Transfer comes from distributions relating to its ownership in its subsidiaries, such as USAC and Sunoco LP. Energy Transfer’s main liquidity needs include distribution to partners, general and administrative costs, and debt servicing obligations. After satisfying the liquidity above criteria, Energy Transfer distributes any remaining cash to its unitholders every quarter.

Kelcy L. Warren is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer LP and has been a leader in the energy industry for nearly 40 years. Mr. Warren co-founded Energy Transfer in 1996, which began as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator and is now one of the industry’s largest and most diversified publicly traded energy companies. Today, the Energy Transfer family of partnerships includes Energy Transfer LP, Sunoco LP, and USA Compression Partners LP.

Opinion: This may be horribly simplistic, but this giant energy infrastructure play looks like a nearly 9% CD that raises the interest rate it pays yearly.  Some people may live to see the end of the carbon economy, but they haven’t been born yet.

 

Name: Mubadala Investment Co PJSC/Mamoura Diversified Global Holding PJSC
Position: 10% Owner
Transaction Date: 2023-03-02 Shares Bought: 66,822 Average Price Paid: $7.82 Cost: $522,354.00
Company: Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc (RXRX)

Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology startup industrializing drug discovery using biology decoding. The Recursion Operating System, a platform built across diverse technologies that enable the mapping and navigation of hundreds of billions of biological and chemical relationships within the Recursion Data Universe, one of the world’s largest proprietary biological and chemical datasets, is central to the mission. The company’s emphasis on unique technologies spanning target discovery through translation and the capacity to quickly iterate in-house and at scale between wet and dry labs distinguishes the company from other firms in the area. Moreover, the balanced team of life scientists, computational and technology professionals, and other experts foster an atmosphere where empirical evidence, statistical rigor, and creative thinking are applied to the judgments.

Mubadala invests and collaborates at the forefront of global development and innovation to generate possibilities for future generations. Commercially oriented, the organization deploys money throughout its portfolio in promising industries and locations. With an entrepreneurial perspective, the firm has altered its business strategy to emphasize shareholders, talent, and world-class relationships. Mamoura Diversified Global Holding releases bi-annual consolidated financial statements as the debt-issuing business under Mubadala Investment Corporation.

Opinion: Well, they have smart people working for them but more money than makes any sense. Their headquarters is two blocks from my apartment. I’m moving at the end of the month, so I won’t be able to watch this investment as close as I’ve had in the past. Just joking, of course. I could not begin to even explain to you what the people will do at the current job openings at Recursion. I’m psyched about the new house that I am moving into.  I’ve noticed anecdotally that what  I might have lost in interest savings is more than made up for it in the price reductions.

 

Name: Albert P. Behler
Position: Director
Transaction Date: 2023-02-23  Shares Bought: 40,000 Average Price Paid: $5.37 Cost: $214,760.00
Transaction Date: 2023-02-08  Shares Bought: 50,000 Average Price Paid: $5.29 Cost: $264,670.00
Company: Paramount Group Inc. (PGRE)

The Paramount Group, Inc. is a fully integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires, and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties in select central business district submarkets of New York City and San Francisco. The firm does operations through the Operating Partnership, which owns the majority of the company’s real estate and investments. They are the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership and held about more of it as of December 31, 2021.

Mr. Albert P. Behler is President & Chief Executive Officer at Paramount Group, Inc. He serves on the Citymeals-on-Wheels board of directors. In October 1991, he started working for Paramount Group. Mr. Behler previously worked as a principal at Thyssen Handels Union AG, as the chairman of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, as a member of the Greenprint Foundation, and as a member of The Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center. Mr. Behler has an Executive Master of Business Administration, which he got from Georgia State University in Atlanta. He studied law and economics in Germany.

Opinion:  Office space is the scariest part of the REIT market.

Name: Wolfgang Laures
Position: SVP IGSC and IT
Transaction Date: 2023-02-23  Shares Bought: 277,000 Average Price Paid: $3.72 Cost: $1,030,994.00
Company: Glatfelter Corp (GLT)

Glatfelter is a worldwide leader in engineered materials. The company’s high-quality, creative, and customized solutions may be found in tea and single-serve coffee filtering, personal hygiene, and a wide range of packaging, home improvement, and industrial applications. Airlaid, wetland, and spunlaced are the production processes used by the company, which has sixteen manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the Philippines. With the Glatfelter and Sontara brands, the corporation has sales offices in all major regions.

Dr. Laures will join Glatfelter in September 2019 with over 25 years of supply chain and operational expertise. He was most recently executive vice president, Global Supply Chain and Digital Transformation at Perstorp, a specialty chemicals pioneer owned by private equity. Before joining Perstorp, he worked in supply chain and operational responsibilities at Avery Dennison, McKinsey & Company, and Procter & Gamble. Dr. Laures received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Germany’s University of Duisburg-Essen.

Opinion: Large buy is definitely worth looking into. It fails just about every test Old School Value programmatically runs on it.

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Insiders sell the stock for many reasons, but they generally buy for just one – to make money. You’ve always heard the best information is inside information.  Everyone who has any experience at all in the stock market pays close attention to what insiders are doing.  After all, who knows a business better than the people running it?  Officers, directors, and 10% owners are required to inform the public through a Form 4 Filing any transaction, buy, sell, exercise, or any other within 48 hours of doing so. This info is available for free from the SEC’s Web site, Edgar, although we subscribe to SECForm4  as they provide a way to manage and make sense of the vast realms of data. I’ve tried a lot of vendors. SECForm4 is one of the smaller ones but I like supporting Frank. He is not arrogant. He’s helpful and has great prices. He also trades on his own data so I like people that eat what they kill.

The bar is different from selling because the natural state of management is to be a seller. This is because most companies provide significant amounts of management compensation packages as stock and options. Therefore, with selling, we analyze unusual patterns, such as insiders selling 25 percent or more of their holdings or multiple insiders selling near 52-week lows. Another red flag is large planned sale programs that start without warning. Unfortunately, the public information disclosure requirements about these programs, referred to as Rule 10b5-1 is horrendously poor. Also planned sales that just pop up out of nowhere are basically sales and are seeking cover under this corporate welfare loophole. I also generally ignore 10 percent shareholders as they tend to be OPM (other people’s money) and perhaps not the smart money we are trying to read the tea leaves on. I say generally because some 10% shareholders are great investors. Think Warren  Buffett, Icahn, and others

Of course, insiders can also be wrong about their Company’s prospects. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they never make mistakes.  Do your own analysis. They can easily be wrong, and in many cases, maybe most cases have no more idea what the future may hold than you or me. In short, you can lose money following them.  We have and we curse aloud, what were they thinking!

We like Fly on the Wall for keeping up with what events might be happening, analysts’ comments, and whatever else could be moving the stock.  Dow Jones news service is an essential tool but many services pick up their feed like they do Bloomberg. For quick financial analysis, it’s hard to beat Old School Value.

A big callout to my assistant Ambreen who sets up this conversation by listing the notable buys that I’ve identified.  She probs the 10k for a reasonable description of the business. I’ve found that to be the most accurate and succinct place to find out what a business actually does. The websites and marketing material are just that, poorly disguised marketing material for many. I should know that better than most if you at my past involvement in building the 1st websites for many Fortune 500 companies.

No one tracks and understands insider behavior better than us. We’ve been doing it religiously since 2001 when I quit being an insider myself and devoted myself full-time to managing my personal investments. Needless to say, past good fortune is no guarantee of future success. We may own positions, long or short, in any of these names and are under no obligation to disclose that.

This blog is solely for educational purposes and the author’s own amusement. Don’t rely on this blog. Think of the blog as part of my personal investment journal that I am willing to share with the DIY investor. We welcome your comments on our analysis but please do  your own research.  Investing with The Insiders Fund is for qualified investors and by Prospectus only. Nothing herein should be construed otherwise.  THE INSIDERS FUND prefers to invest in companies at or near prices that management has been willing to invest significant amounts of their own money in but we have no requirement to do so. We also invest in many companies in anticipation of future insider buying or with the expectation that there is none at all.

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Prosperous Trading,