The sharp drop in oil prices in the last six or seven months has been a boon for consumers – not so much, though, for those in the oil and gas industry, who have grown accustomed to the higher revenue the product has brought, although some have been taking the opportunity to invest in their companies while the stock price is down.
While consumers are happy to be spending less to fill up their vehicles, there is considerable anxiety in the oil industry. Jobs are being lost because of the lower prices. Houston-based Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB, Financial), the world’s largest oilfield services provider, announced last week that it is cutting 9,000 jobs – about 7% of its workforce – due to expectations of lower commodity prices and anticipated lower spending on exploration and production this year. More job losses may be on the horizon.
Nevertheless, some oil industry insiders have been taking advantage of the opportunity. They have been fueling a surge in insider buys of late, a surge that is not yet as pronounced in the exploration and development sector as it is in others.
Christopher Bunka, president and 10% owner of Lexaria Corp (LXRP, Financial), a North American exploration and development oil and gas company, bought 189,000 shares of his company for an average price of $0.10 per share last week, his twelfth purchase of Lexaria stock in the last two months. Bunka also bought 40,000 shares in the company a week earlier.
Last week’s transaction wasn’t Bunka’s largest transaction in Lexaria. In November, Bunka bought 275,605 shares for an average price of $0.60.
So far, Bunka is the only Lexaria insider who has been buying company stock since oil prices started their precipitous drop last summer. Lexaria director Nicholas Baxter and CFO Baljinder Bhullar bought stock in the company last spring – before oil prices began to fall.
R. Scot Woodall, CEO and president of Denver-based Bill Barrett Corporation (BBG, Financial), a gas and oil exploration and development company, bought 5,000 shares in his company for an average price of $9.80 per share last week.
Directors Jim W. Moog and Michael E. Wiley, Senior Vice President Larry Parnell and Senior Vice President/General Counsel Kenneth Wonstolen invested in company stock in December. Moog bought 25,000 shares for an average price of $8.01 per share, Wiley bought 10,000 shares for an average price of $9.50 per share, Parnell also bought 10,000 shares (for an average price of $9.36 per share) and Wonstolen bought 5,000 shares for an average price of $9.48 per share.
They were the first insider buys at Bill Barrett Corporation since Executive Vice President Francis Brian Barron bought 2,000 shares in June 2012.
Guru George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) bought 52,600 shares for an average price of $23.3 in September.
Learn more about Insider Trends by using the Insider Trades feature, for Premium Members. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days.
