Investors sometimes believe that they should focus almost exclusively on what is going on with a company to inform their investment decisions and not pay much attention to the macro environment. This approach may work at times but can be detrimental when the macro environment is in a state of flux, where entire economies or industries might be impacted by the prevailing winds of change. We are very much in such an environment right now with the specter of higher interest rates on the horizon even as the West watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are always pockets of opportunity even in a challenging macro environment (banks have done very well recently and so have commodities) and if you are not inclined to buy at the moment, you can continue to add to your watchlist. Having a well groomed watchlist on the ready can be invaluable when conditions turn favorable and allows you to act quickly to take advantage of the opportunity.
Reviewing the list of insider purchases this weekend, it felt like déjà vu and I had to go back to check to make sure I was editing the right post and had not inadvertently started editing an old one. Some of the companies on the list this week also saw insider buying in the week prior and we have discussed others in recent weeks. The purchase that caught my eye this week was the one by independent director Warren Stephens of the retail chain Dillard’s (NYSE: DDS). Mr. Stephens purchased 20,000 shares of Dillard’s for $4.61 million. He is the CEO of the privately held investment bank Stephens. Founded in 1933 and based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Stephens took a small Arkansas-based discount retailer called Walmart public in 1970.
