Eddie Lampert, who already owns more than 60% of the company, has purchased more Sears Holdings (SHLD, Financial), both for his hedge fund, ESL Investments, and for his personal account. The market reacted by sending shares almost 5% higher on Thursday.
Lampert bought 1,677,335 shares for ESL Investments at $52.75. Lampert also has so much confidence in the company that he bought 722,489 shares at the same price for himself, bringing his personal holding to 23,469,942 shares. Sears had recently gotten cheaper after it was ousted from the S&P 500 in late August for not having enough shares owned by public investors.
Lampert last purchased Sears shares as early as February 26 at $29.20 each. Sears’ shares have gained more than 72% year to date and opened at $55.50 on Thursday.
Lampert, who is also the chairman of Sears, vowed in his 2011 letter to “accelerate the transformation of Sears Holdings” after reporting a $3.1 billion loss that year. He also noted that the company had $20 billion in assets on its balance sheet and that he believed its primary problem was profit.
On August 16, Sears reported a second-quarter loss of $132 million, compared to a loss of $146 million the prior-year quarter. Total adjusted EBITDA was $153 million, an increase from $58 million in the prior-year quarter.
Lampert bought 1,677,335 shares for ESL Investments at $52.75. Lampert also has so much confidence in the company that he bought 722,489 shares at the same price for himself, bringing his personal holding to 23,469,942 shares. Sears had recently gotten cheaper after it was ousted from the S&P 500 in late August for not having enough shares owned by public investors.
Lampert last purchased Sears shares as early as February 26 at $29.20 each. Sears’ shares have gained more than 72% year to date and opened at $55.50 on Thursday.
Lampert, who is also the chairman of Sears, vowed in his 2011 letter to “accelerate the transformation of Sears Holdings” after reporting a $3.1 billion loss that year. He also noted that the company had $20 billion in assets on its balance sheet and that he believed its primary problem was profit.
On August 16, Sears reported a second-quarter loss of $132 million, compared to a loss of $146 million the prior-year quarter. Total adjusted EBITDA was $153 million, an increase from $58 million in the prior-year quarter.
