James Fairweather, an EVP at Pitney Bowes (PBI), recently picked up 4,335 shares. The buy increased his holdings by just over 3 percent, and came to a total cost just under $15,000.
The buy comes a few days after the company’s Chief Legal Officer picked up 3,013 shares, at a cost of about $10,000. Going back further, insider buys from directors and executives have far exceeded sales in the past three years.
Overall, company insiders own 7.3 percent of shares.
The freight and logistics company has lost about 57 percent in the past year. That’s occurred as earnings have slid by 78 percent, although revenue has been nearly flat. At current prices, shares are going for just under 11 times forward earnings.
Action to take: The company could be an interesting value play here. The selloff in shares has pushed the stock’s dividend yield to 6 percent, although that’s high enough that it may result in a cut if the company’s earnings remain low. At these prices, the company may make more sense as a buyout or acquisition candidate.
For traders, the January 2023 $3 calls are about $0.30 in-the-money. Last going for about $0.65, traders could potentially nab a mid-double-digit return on a rally in shares. Given that shares have a longer-term downtrend, a trade like the January 2024 $2 puts, also going for about $0.30, could deliver sizeable returns on the downside.
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.