Seven Stocks Insiders Are Buying

Insiders may sell shares for any number of reasons. But there is really only one reason insiders buy shares of a company -- they believe the stock price will move higher and they want to profit from it. Pullbacks and sell-offs provide a perfect opportunity for investors who have faith in a company to snap up shares. Here are some stocks that have seen insider buying recently. Ameriprise Financial AMP: A director purchased 16,000 shares, worth more than $728,000, last week, and two other directors bought shares back in August. This Minneapolis-based asset manager was once a subsidiary of American Express AXP, and it now has a dividend yield of 0.2%, a market cap of $10.4 billion, and a long-range EPS growth forecast of 12.6%. The stock hit a 52-week low in early October but the share price has risen more than 6% in the past month. The stock has outperformed competitor Principal Financial PFG since the beginning of the year. Calumet Specialty Products CLMT: This Indianapolis-based oil and gas refiner had more than 70,000 shares, worth over $1.3 million, purchased by the chairman of the board, the COO and a director this week. The company has a dividend yield of 10.3% and a market cap is $681.9 million. The share price has been on the rise in recent weeks but is still nearly 5% lower than six months ago. In that time, the stock's performance has been nearly in line with the Nasdaq, but it has underperformed competitor HollyFrontier HFC. Chesapeake Energy CHK: A director bought 100,000 shares, worth more than $2.6 million, last week. The CEO, CFO and three other directors have also purchased shares since the beginning of August. This Oklahoma City-based natural gas and oil developer has a market cap of $16.9 billion and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The share price has pulled back about 12.0% in the past week but is still more than 11% higher than a year ago. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed competitors such as Anadarko APC and the broader markets. Jeffries Group JEF: Two directors and stakeholder Leucadia National LUK have purchased 4.5 million shares since the beginning of November. That is worth more than $52.5 million. The New York-based investment broker has a market cap of $1.9 billion and its dividend yield is 2.7%. The share price has drifted downward all year, dropping about 15% in the past month, and is now trading near the 52-week low. The stock has underperformed competitors Piper Jaffray PJC and Raymond James RJF, as well as the broader markets. SLM SLM: This student loan company's CEO purchased 100,000 shares last week, worth more than $1.3 million. Two directors have also bought shares since early August. The market cap of this Newark, N.J.-based company is $7.1 billion and its dividend yield is 2.9%. Shares have sold mostly between $12 and $14 since the sell-off in August. The share price is currently about 12% higher than at the beginning of the year. The stock's performance was in line with that of competitor KeyCorp KEY over the past six months. Valhi VHI: The chairman of the board has been periodically buying shares of this industrial products manufacturer since June, including more than 17,000 shares worth more than $1 million this past week. This company has a market cap of $6.5 billion and its dividend yield is 0.9%. EPS surged in the recent report. But Valhi's shares have faced resistance around $63 since late August. Yet the share price is almost 170% higher than a year ago. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitor DuPont DD. Whirlpool WHR: So far in November, the CEO and two directors have purchased 11,000 shares, worth more than $565,000. And two executive vice presidents bought shares in August. This Michigan-based home appliance maker is celebrating its 100th anniversary today, and it has a market cap of $4.1 billion. The dividend yield is 3.7%. Despite rising more than 3% in the past week, the share price is more than 28% lower than a year ago. The stock has underperformed the broader markets over the past six months.