Bank Insiders Look Smart For a Change (C, WFC, BAC)

Some recent bank insiders that bought stock in their respective banks are finally looking smart after looking like fools for some time.

Over the years, insider buying has been seen as a sign of strength of a company, but lately, especially in the banks, the buying has been seen as a sign of weakness. Investors view the buys as feeble attempts at confidence building. The intended confidence never materializes and the stocks continue to be brutalized by running shareholders and the short sellers that continuously pounce on the once-mighty blue chips, turned penny stocks.

Here are some recent "smart" insider buys:

Citigroup (NYSE: C) Director Ramirez Hernandez bought 6,000,000 shares on 3/2 at $1.25. Today's close was $1.54, which translates into a paper percentage gain of 23% and a dollar gain of $1.74 million.

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Chairman Richard M. Kovacevich bought 100,000 shares on 3/5 at $8.05. Today's close was $11.88, which translates into a paper percentage gain of 48% and a dollar gain of $383K.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Director Jacquelyn Ward bought 13,100 shares on 2/20 at $3.78. Today's close was $4.93, which translates into a paper percentage gain of 30% and a dollar gain of $15K.

Of course there have been many, many "dumb" insider buys in the banks. You can view some of the dumb insider moves by visiting the 'Insider Trade' categories of the respective stocks. C - Here, WFC - Here, BAC - Here.

For more insider trading ideas you can visit StreetInsider.com's 'Insider Trades' news feed here.

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