Albert Smith, a director at Simon Property Group (SPG), recently bought 639 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 1 percent ,and came to a total cost of just over $74,000. He was joined by another director, who bought 326 shares, paying just under $38,000.
Other directors have made modest purchases in the past few days as well, with another cluster of director buying in the last quarter. Over the past two years, there have been no insider sales.
Overall, company insiders own 0.5 percent of shares.
The shopping mall REIT is down 25 percent in the past year. Revenues rose 2 percent, but earnings slid by 21 percent amid high inflation and other costs.
Nevertheless, the REIT is reasonably valued relative to its revenue, and it sports a 37 percent profit margin.
Action to take: Income investors may be interested in shares here, as they yield about 6.1 percent. SPG has managed to raise the dividend in the past year as well, although improving earnings will likely be needed for meaningful dividend increases down the line.
For traders, shares have started moving slightly higher over the past few months. The April $120 calls, last going for about $6.70, are an at-the-money trade that could turn a continued rise in shares into a mid-double-digit gain.
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.