Daryl Bible, CFO at M&T Bank (MTB), recently bought 5,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 18 percent, and came to a total cost of $555,218.
This is the second buy from the CFO this year, following a 10,000 share pickup in June, for just over $1.2 million. Another director bought shares in February. Otherwise, company insiders have been small sellers of shares, often from the exercise of stock options.
Overall, company insiders own 0.6 percent of shares.
The bank has seen its share price slide by about one-third over the past year. Rising interest rates have weighed on the stock, even as earnings have risen by a modest 7 percent and revenues are up 3 percent.
At current prices, M&T Bank now trades at about a 25 percent discount to its book value, and shares trade at less than 8 times forward earnings.
Action to take: With interest rates potentially at their cycle peak, bank stocks may start to turn around. When they do, it’s likely that shares can move back to their book value for double-digit gains.
At current prices M&T Bank pays a hefty 4.6 percent dividend, giving investors a big payout while waiting for a turnaround.
For traders, the January 2024 $120 calls, last trading for about $4.25, could see mid-double-digit returns on a move higher in shares in the coming weeks.
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.