James Hanson, a director at Lakeland Bancorp Inc (LBAI) recently bought 1,240 shares. The buy came to just over $18,500 and represents a 1.4 percent increase in his holdings.
This is the first insider buy since February. Insiders have been active buyers of shares at the bank, with only one insider sale in the past year. These buys include both company executives and directors. Overall, insiders own 4.3 percent of company shares.
The bank has seen revenue rise by 34 percent in the past year and earnings shoot up by 87 percent, all while posting a 30 percent profit margin. That’s been good for shares, which are up over 75 percent in the past year.
Shares have been in a strong uptrend in the past year, but the rate of growth has slowed somewhat in the past few months.
Action to take: Shares are still attractively valued at 11 times forward earnings, so the upward trend is still likely to continue. Investors can get a 2.9 percent dividend yield for shares right now as well.
Of the limited options trades available, the October $20 calls are the furthest date out and the only strike price available. Shares would need to rally another 7 percent for the trade to move in-the-money, but at a bid/ask spread of about $1.00 for the contract, this trade could deliver mid-to-high double digit gains.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no positions in the stock mentioned here, and does not intend to make a trade on this company after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.