Berkshire Partners Continues Insider Buying Spree: Mattress Firm, Conn’s, Summit Midstream and More

It’s always very easy to tell here at 24/7 Wall St. when earnings season starts going full throttle. Insider activity slows to a crawl as corporations halt insider transactions as they report quarterly earnings and revenue. While not every company is on the typical quarterly calendar, most are and that tends to slow things down until the second month of any given quarter.

We cover insider buying every week at 24/7 Wall St., and we like to remind our readers that while insider buying is usually a very positive sign, it is not in of itself a reason to run out and buy a stock. Sometimes insiders and 10% owners have stock purchase plans set up at intervals to add to their holdings. That aside, it still remains a positive indicator.

Here are some of the companies that reported notable insider buying this past week.

Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: MFRM) hit our screens again, and the same company continues to add shares to its position. Berkshire Partners, which is a 10% owner of the company, bought an additional 74,308 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $41.25 to $42.49 apiece. The total for this purchase came in right at $3 million. The stock closed Friday at $43.87, so the timing again looks good.
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Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) also hits our screen as another 10% owner of the company was buying shares this week. The 10% owner, whose name was not disclosed, bought a block of 250,000 shares of the stock at prices that ranged from $10.40 to $10.93. The total for the buy came in at $3 million. The company operates as a specialty retailer of durable consumer goods and related services in the United States. It operates through Retail and Credit segments. The stock closed Friday at $12.45.

Summit Midstream Partners L.P. (NYSE: SMLP), like the others, is on our screens once again, as it was so many times during the first quarter. Energy Capital Partners, a director, bought a total of 57,590 shares at prices that ranged from $16.37 to $17.04. The total for the buy was $1 million. Later in the week the company purchased another 52,284 shares at between $17.50 and $18.46 apiece, which also came in at $1 million. Summit Midstream focuses on owning, developing and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets, primarily shale formations in North America. Insiders at all levels of the company have been buying this stock. The shares closed Friday at $17.85.

SeaChange International Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAC) had the man at the top purchasing shares of the company last week. CEO Edward Terino bought a block of 40,000 shares of the stock at $3.83 per share. That cost him $200,000. The company provides multiscreen video products and services that facilitate the aggregation, licensing, management and distribution of video and television advertising content to cable system operators and telecommunications and media companies worldwide. The shares closed Friday at $3.78.

Stage Stores Inc. (NYSE: SSI) is another company with a CEO scooping up shares this week. Michael Glazer bought 24,556 shares at prices between $6.64 and $6.77. The total for the purchase was $200,000. Stage Stores operates as a specialty department store retailer in small and midsized towns and communities in the United States. As of January 30, 2016, it operated 834 specialty department stores in 39 states and a direct-to-consumer channel under the Bealls, Peebles, Palais Royal, Goody’s, and Stage nameplates. The shares closed Friday at $7.50, so the timing looks solid.

While not a landslide of insiders at the buying desk this week, at least some executives and 10% owners still have a window to buy more shares. This trend probably will stay in place for the next month or so.