Richard Ledgett, a director at M&T Bancorp (MTB) recently bought 390 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 11 percent, and came to a total cost of $61,000.
This marks the first insider buy at the bank since last July. Over the past two years, company directors and executives have been regular sellers of shares since then, largely through the exercise of stock options.
Company insiders own 0.5 percent of shares.
The regional bank is down 14 percent over the past year, as rising interest rates have weighed on asset valuations and slowed lending activity.
However, M&T is still coming off a strong year, with earnings up 67 percent from a 58 percent jump in revenues. The bank also goes for 1.1 times its book value, which is a reasonable valuation for where other bank stocks trade at present.
Action to take: Investors may like shares for the long haul. The bank spots a 26 percent profit margin, and trades for less than 10 times earnings. Plus, the recently-raised dividend gives today’s buyers a 3.3 percent yield.
For traders, the July $170 calls, last going for about $4.15, offer mid-double-digit returns from here. M&T shares have been trending up since last fall, and have pulled back in the past few weeks, which should set up a run higher from here.
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.