Notable Insider Buys Last Week: PBF Energy, Trinity Industries

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• A couple of insiders made return trips to the buy window.
• Insider buying is subdued overall while earnings season is in full swing.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10% owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly with markets near all-time highs and during periods of uncertainty.

Here are a couple of significant insider purchases reported last week. Also note that with earnings season in full swing, buy windows for many insiders are closed.

PBF Energy

A 10% owner of PBF Energy Inc PBF purchased 212,000 shares of this this New Jersey-based refiner last week. At $29.41 to $29.82 per share, that totaled more than $6.29 million. Note that the same insider bought more than 553,000 shares in the previous week for over $17 million.

In fact, that insider, an asset manager associated with tycoon Carlos Slim, also bought lots of shares back in December and November. The stock is down more than 16% since the beginning of November. However, the analysts' consensus target price suggests more the 43% upside from the most recent share price.

See also: Mark Cuban Says 'Data Is The New Oil,' Still Loves Netflix And Amazon

Trinity Industries

A Trinity Industries Inc TRN director stepped up to the buy window again last week and picked up nearly 278,400 shares of this railcar maker at between $20.51 and $20.75 apiece. That cost him over $5.74 million. These purchases were made pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan and followed the purchase of more than 206,500 shares in the prior week.

This Dallas-based company recently named a former Caterpillar executive as its new chief executive. The stock is down about 6% year to date, while the S&P 500 has seen a marginal gain in that time. The current share price is more than the mean price target and, not surprisingly, analysts recommend holding the stock.

Note that some insider buying at Phillips 66 Partners LP PSXP and PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC was reported last week as well.