Michael Ozimek, an executive vice president at Trustco Bank Corp (TRST), recently picked up 2,500 shares. The buy increased his stake by nearly 63 percent, and came to a total price of just over $82,000.
The buy comes after a number of other company insiders have been buyers in recent months, including an 1,800-share pickup from the company’s Chairman and CEO back in July for nearly $60,000. Over the past three years, company insiders have been almost entirely buyers of shares.
Overall, company insiders own about 3 percent of shares.
The regional bank is up about 5 percent in the past year, far outperforming the S&P 500. The bank has seen earnings grow by 24 percent even amid a rising interest rate environment.
Action to take: Shares of the bank trade at right around their book value, and the bank has a 36 percent profit margin. The bank likely has more upside ahead of it, and today’s buyers can get a 4.2 percent dividend yield to start as prices have come down in recent weeks.
The bank is likely too small in terms of market cap to be a buyout target, but if it continues growing, shares could be bought out at a premium.
For traders, there are a limited number of options trades. But the January 2023 $35 calls, last going for about $2.40, can potentially deliver mid-to-high double-digit gains in the months ahead.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.