Cracker Barrel and Other 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.

: Three directors and the corporate secretary have bought up more than 79,000 shares in the past week. That was worth more than $80,000. The market cap of his New Jersey-based regional bank is $163.3 million. Its P/E and PEG ratios are less than the industry average and the dividend yield is 1.2%. The share price is up more than 2% since the beginning of the year despite a recent pullback. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed competitors New York Community Bancorp

and Valley National Bancorp

.

.

: Sardar Biglari purchased 51,000 more shares this week. That was worth more than $2.8 million. The Texas-based activist investor has spent more than $60 million on the stock so far this year. Cracker Barrel has a market cap of $1.3 billion. Its P/E ratio is less than the industry average and the return on equity is 28.3%. Shares have traded mostly between $55 and $57 since late February, but the stock has outperformed competitors Denny's

and IHOP parent DineEquity

over the past six months.

: A director and an executive vice president of this Columbus, Ohio-based REIT purchased 12,000 shares, worth about $205,000, this past week. It has a market cap of $860.7 million and a dividend yield of 3.9%. It is expected to report year-over-year EPS and sales growth for the fourth quarter on April 25. The share price is up about 11% year to date and less than 3% below the 52-week high. But over the past six months, the stock has underperformed competitors such as CBL & Associates

and General Growth Properties

.

.

: Some 80,000 shares, worth more than $147,000, were purchased recently by the CEO, COO, two directors and an executive VP. The Miami-based investment bank has a market cap of $318.5 million and posted strong Q4 results due to an acquisition. The share price has fallen more than 41% from the 52-week high back in late December, but it is still more than 39% higher than a year ago. Over the past six months, the stock underperformed competitors such as LPL Investment Holdings

, as well as the broader markets.

.

: The chairman, vice chairman and an executive VP have bought more than 150,000 shares in the past week. The chairman has been frequently buying shares since November. This Miami-based health care company has a market cap of $1.4 billion. Short interest is 19.8% of the float. Shares have traded mostly between $4.50 and $5.50 since October, and the share price is about 3% lower that at the beginning of the year. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed competitor Allergan

and the broader markets.

.

: The CEO, CFO and a beneficial owner recently purchased more than 1.2 million shares, worth over $2.5 million. The mining company recently agreed to issue 8.9 million shares of common stock in a private placement transaction to fund its current exploration and development plans in Mexico and the U.S. Shares jumped more than 9% in the past week, following the announcement, but the share price is still about 37% lower than a year ago. The stock has outperformed competitors such as Allied Nevada Gold

over the past six months.

.