Richard Hipple, a director at Barnes Group (B), recently bought 1,200 shares. The buy increased his holdings by nearly 9 percent, and came to a total cost just under $43,000.
That’s the first insider buy at the company in over two months. Another director has been buying this year, and some company insiders have been sellers. Over the past year, buys have exceeded sales. However, large insider sales in 2020 tip the scale over the past three years to sellers.
Overall, company insiders own 4.9 percent of shares.
The specialty machinery company is down about 17 percent in the past year. Revenue slightly dipped, but earnings have slid about 40 percent. As a producer of items like mold injection systems, the slowing global economy may be weighing on the company’s prospects now.
Action to take: Shares look reasonably valued at 15 times forward earnings. But those earnings are likely to keep slowing as long as the economy does.
Investors may want to make a starting buy now, as shares have started an uptrend in the past few weeks. Share prices may trend lower in the coming weeks with the overall market. Shares yield about 1.7 percent at current prices.
For traders, the January 2023 $40 calls, last going for about $1.20, offer mid-double-digit returns on a continued rally in shares.
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.