Insider Buys Of The Week: Schlumberger, Tiffany And More

• Insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors.
• A couple of big energy stocks saw notable insider buys this past week.
• Some top-level executives continued to build up stakes in their companies as well.

Conventional wisdom says that insiders and 10 percent owners really only buy shares of a company for one reason -- they believe the stock price will rise and they want to profit from it. So insider buying can be an encouraging signal for potential investors, particularly during periods of uncertainty.

Here's a look at some notable insider purchases reported in the past week.

DDR

A director of DDR Corp DDR has been buying shares of this shopping center focused real estate investment trust for the past several weeks, including this past week's more than 1.04 million. At prices that ranged from $6.90 to $7.26 apiece, that cost him about $7.38 million. Note that the latest purchases brought his stake to more than 51.75 million shares, out of about 369 million shares outstanding.

As with its REIT peers, the collapse of Toys "R" Us has been a concern for DDR investors. Its shares rose about 5 percent in the past week and ended most recently at $7.33, just above the director's purchase price range. The S&P 500 was essentially flat last week. Note that the shares have changed hands as high as $13 apiece in the past year.

Entercom

Entercom Communications Corp. ETM Chairman Emeritus Joseph Field continues to build his stake. At prices that ranged from $9.25 to $9.90, the 410,000 shares of this radio broadcaster that Field acquired in the past week cost him less than $3.96 million. Since the beginning of March, Field has purchased about 1.5 million shares.

Earlier in the month, the Pennsylvania-based company posted quarterly results and announced a dividend. Its shares ended the past week less than 2 percent lower, closing most recently at $9.65, so no quick gain for Field there. The recent 52-week low was $9.25, but shares have traded as high as $14.53 in the past year.

See also: Wash Trading, Bear Raiding, Cornering: The Many Forms Of Market Manipulation

Tiffany's

Tiffany & Co. TIF had the board chair and another director scoop up 20,000 shares combined of this luxury retailer last week. At prices ranging from $97.58 to $98.68 a share, those transactions totaled more than $1.93 million. Note that the purchases included unvested restricted stock units, and also that another director sold more than 9,000 shares last week.

This New-York-based company posted better-than-expected quarterly results but soft guidance this month. Shares closed this past week at $97.66 apiece, still in the purchase price range. The stock is down more than 8 percent year to date. Shares traded at more than $111 earlier this year.

Schlumberger

At Schlumberger Limited. SLB, CEO Paal Kibsgaard and two other executives stepped up to the buy window. At prices that ranged from $64.30 to $64.98, the total of 18,000 shares reportedly acquired in the past week cost them less than $1.16 million. Kibsgaard's stake was listed as 115,000 shares, after 65,000 shares were transferred to a former spouse.

Some analysts see the insider buying at Schlumberger as a sign that shares are undervalued. The stock ended the past week about 2 percent lower, closing most recently at $64.78 apiece. The 52-week low of $61.02 was seen last November, while the 52-week high of $80.89 was reached almost a year ago. The consensus price target is $81.89, however.

Enterprise Products

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. EPD saw CEO A.J. Teague acquire more than 24,600 units of this Houston-based master limited partnership. At an average per-unit price that averaged $24.54, the total for the purchase came to about $605,000. Note that Teague also bought 20,000 units earlier in March.

A recent decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had investors spooked. The units are down about 9 percent year to date, despite being flat in the past week, and ended most recently at $24.48 apiece. The consensus price target was $31.68 on last look, above the 52-week high of $29.51.