Loans and financial matters

Browsing through the Vickers Weekly Insider Report on a regular basis is a great way to find companies that are already partially owned by outside beneficial owners who are also increasing their stakes by continuing to buy stock on the open market. This type of browsing is what led to discovering Rexel and its outside beneficial owner, Rexel S.A., a browsing coup that led to a 119 percent profit.
The Vickers Weekly Insider Report is available by mail and also online. Published by Argus Research, the report is a summary of buy and sell transactions by corporate “insiders” (officers and directors) and also outside “beneficial owners” of 10 percent or more of a company’s stock.
Of particular interest is the “beneficial owner” transactions. When an outside investor accumulates 5 percent or more of a company’s shares, he or she must file a Form 13-D with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That form will indicate the date and prices paid for the stock and also, in general terms, the purpose of the investment. Some 13-Ds clearly state that the stock has been bought for “investment purposes only,” while other 13-D filings leave open the possibility that the outside beneficial owner may seek to influence management in some way, including possibly urging the restructuring or sale of the company as a means of “maximizing” or “enhancing” shareholder value.
In the Vickers Weekly Insider Report look for outside beneficial owners that are accumulating additional shares on the open market. When an outside beneficial owner who already owns a stake in a company goes into the open market to buy additional stock it tells you two things. First, at the very least, it indicates that the outside beneficial owner still sees value at a certain price level and is willing to buy more stock at that price. Second, additional open market buying can also be an early clue that the outside beneficial owner intends to eventually take over the entire company and is trying to accumulate as many shares as possible at a bargain price before offering a premium to buy the remainder of the shares owned by the public.