Four Consumer Discretionary Companies Where Insiders are Buying

Although Inside Scoop is on an August respite (feel free to catch up all the Scoop goodness here), we're still prowling around over at InsiderScore looking for interesting buys this month. One space where insiders bought is the consumer discretionary sector.  The highlights:

At Genuine Parts (GPC), CEO and Chairman Thomas Gallagher bought 5,000 shares of the auto and industrial parts company for $420,000, marking his first transaction on record in 10 years. Gallagher bought after the company's earnings beat estimates. InsiderScore notes that the last purchase at the company was in December 2012 and comments:

[Gallagher is] sending a compelling message that he thinks the stock isn’t fairly valued. While multi-insider events send stronger signals we note that any buy/sell activity is rare, making the purchase a true outlier.

Rent-A-Center (RCII) grabbed our attention when the new CFO joined a director for a cluster buy. Most notable were Guy Constant, who bought 10,000 shares for $248,400 and J.V. Lentell, a director, who bought 5,000 shares for $119,000. InsiderScore notes that the buys occurred in the wake of a three-year low at the rent-to-own durable goods retailer.

Homebuilder Beazer Homes (BZH) makes the cut following a cluster buy worth $781,300. Executives including CEO Allan Merrill and CFO Robert Salomon participated at a time when shares fell on earnings that missed estimates. InsiderScore had this to say:

The cluster buy sends a message that insiders believe the market overreacted to earnings and that the stock’s price is not representing their perceived value. This is classic buying on post-earnings weakness but it’s something we’ve seen less of across the market over the past few years due, in part, to relatively high levels of insider selling.

Finally, another cluster buy following earnings weakness and a share slump occurred at Penn National Gaming (PENN). Three top executives including CEO Timothy Wilmott, who bought 50,000 shares for $522,700 and COO Jay Snowden, who bought 11,500 shares for $118,900 participated. Also joining them was CFO Saul Reibstein, who bought 2,500 shares for $25,400. InsiderScore notes that Wilmott and Snowden bought at similar levels in May.