Benjamin Clouse, CFO at CrossFirst Bankshares (CFB), recently added 7,500 shares to his holdings. The buy increased his stake by just over 101 percent, and came to a total cost just over $97,400.
That’s the first insider buy at the regional bank so far this year. One company director has been a regular and consistent seller of shares in the past year. Going further back, insider sales have likewise exceeded small insider buys after a selloff in shares.
Overall, insiders at the firm own 14.3 percent of the company.
The bank has dipped about 8 percent in the past year, while earnings have been flat. Revenues have been up, and the bank has a fat 37 percent profit margin. Plus, with shares trading near book value, the bank is well priced for a larger banking institution to potentially acquire the company.
Action to take: Shares don’t currently pay a dividend, so investors looking for yield in the banking or financial space may want to look elsewhere. But as a rebound play later in the year as interest rates stop rising and potentially come down, the stock is well poised for a rally.
For traders, options are somewhat limited. The November $15 calls, however, are close to-the-money. Last carrying a bid/ask spread near $0.85, traders can likely nab high double-digit returns on the trade on a rally in shares after the coming weeks.
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.