5 Stocks Insiders Are Buying Now

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Mar 30, 2012
Recently, insiders have found great opportunities to buy their companies' shares at a low price. In fact, insiders from various industries and sectors have taken the opportunity to make large share purchases.


Astute investors utilize insider buying trends to aid in their investment decisions. Insiders know their companies better than any investor on the outside looking in, so when they invest and put their own capital at risk, the profitability outlook must be promising. Below are companies with strong insider buying:


Amphenol (APH, Financial) shares are currently trading above $56. Within the last 52 weeks, shares have fluctuated between $39 and $59. The company designs and manufactures interconnect products such as electronic and fiber optic connectors, which are integral in the communication and information processing industry. Insiders have loaded up on shares despite the price premium; shares are trading at a price to earnings ratio of 18.5 compared to the industry average of 13. The company trades at a price to sales ratio of 2.29, whereas the average for the industry is 0.7.


Amphenol is a mid-cap company with a market cap of $9.25 billion and an enterprise value of $9.75 billion. The company has $650 million of cash on its balance sheet and $1.4 billion of total debt outstanding. Amphenol will have no problems meeting its debt obligations as the company’s current ratio stands at 3.4. The company also pays an annual dividend of $0.42, which currently yields 0.8%.


Phillip Morris International (PM, Financial) shares are currently trading just below $82. The shares have a 52-week low and high of $60 and $82, respectively. Phillip Morris is the world’s largest producer of tobacco products; the company manufactures and markets cigarettes globally under the label of various local brands. Shares are trading relatively cheaper than its major competitor British American Tobacco (BTI, Financial), at a price to earnings ratio of 17 compared to British American’s ratio of 20.


Phillip Morris has a market cap of $142 billion and an enterprise value of $156 billion. The company also has a very strong balance sheet, which consists of $3.4 billion of cash and $18 billion of total debt on outstanding. The company has performed extremely well, growing revenue and profits by 26% and 31%, respectively on a year over year basis. Consequently, insiders have purchased in excess of 300k shares in February and the company also pays an annual dividend of $3.08, which yields 3.8%.


Whirlpool (WHR, Financial) shares are currently trading just above $70, between a 52-week low and high of $45 and $92, respectively. Whirlpool is a global leader in home appliances, including washing machines, refrigerators, cooking appliances and other household appliances. The company also operates under various brand names including Maytag, Kitchen-Aid, Amana and other brands. Shares of the company are trading in line with the industry; both Whirlpool and the industry (average) are trading at a 15 price to earnings multiple.


Whirlpool has a market cap of $5.4 billion and an enterprise value of $6.7 billion. The company has $1.1 billion in cash on hand, and $2.5 billion of total debt outstanding. The company also pays a robust dividend of $2.00 a share, which currently yields 2.8%.


Baldwin Technology (BLD, Financial) shares are trading near $0.90, up over 100% from its 52-week low of $0.40, and down 50% from its highs of $1.80. Baldwin is a little-known industrial company based in Boca Raton, Fla. The company manufactures equipment for the printing and publishing industry. Shares of the company are trading relatively cheap compared to the industry, at a price to sales ratio of .09, in contrast to the industry average is 0.67. The company appears to be undervalued as it has a book value of almost $2 a share.


Baldwin has a market value of $14 million and an enterprise value of $25 million. The company has almost $13 million of cash on hand and $24 million of total debt outstanding. Indicated by insider purchases, executives believe the company is undervalued. However, outsiders do not have as much confidence; the company has reported a loss for the last three consecutive quarters and revenue has consistently declined.


Juniper Networks (JNPR, Financial) shares are trading just above $24. Shares of Juniper have traded between $17 and $45 in the last 52 weeks. Juniper provides products and services to enhance, secure and develop network infrastructures for communication devices. Shares of Juniper are priced at a premium to the market, trading at a price to earnings ratio of 31, compared to the industry average of 19. Moreover, shares are trading at a price to sales ratio of 2.8, in comparison the industry average is 1.5.


Juniper has a market cap of $13 billion and an enterprise value of $10 billion. The company has $3.5 billion of cash on hand and $1 billion of total debt outstanding. Noticeably, the company is extremely liquid with a current ratio of 3.