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MoneyGram (MGI) Insider Buys Continue: More Growth Ahead?

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MoneyGram International, Inc. recently witnessed a series of major insider buys from a board director and two officers. Per the Form 4 filings in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the last two days, the total value of the transactions was $360,276.

Peggy Vaughan — one of the board of directors of the leading global financial technology firm — acquired 44,977 common stocks of the company at a $6.69 price. The transaction is valued at $300,896. Following the move, Vaughan holds 271,472 shares of Moneygram. Chief Revenue Officer Grant A Lines acquired 5,000 common stocks of the company at a $6.50 price, totaling $32,500. Following the purchase, the officer owns 735,810 common stocks of MoneyGram. Angelilli Lawrence — the Chief Financial Officer — bought 4,200 shares at a $6.40 price. The transaction is valued at $26,880. The officer now holds 614,979 shares of the company.

These moves follow last week’s series of insider buys, which included the director of MoneyGram W. Bruce Turner’s acquisition of 269,600 company shares at different price points ($5.74, $5.65 and $5.59). The total transaction value was around $1.5 million, which marked one of the biggest insider buys witnessed by the company.

All these insider moves indicate that the company heavyweights expect the stock to rise. MoneyGram’s increasing international footprint is likely to trigger more growth in the near future. Its strategy of diversifying the revenue mix geographically to align with the global remittance market growth rate and pursuing higher margin corridors bodes well. The latest insider movement can also be intriguing for investors as MGI announced a share repurchase program earlier this month.

In a bid to return more value to shareholders, the board of directors authorized a $50-million share buyback program. This indicates MoneyGram’s sturdy financial position and strong cash generation abilities. The company is also pursuing a principal repayment of a $15-million voluntary term loan to upgrade the capital structure and reduce the debt burden.

Price Performance

MoneyGram’s shares have risen 14.4% in the year-to-date period.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

MoneyGram currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other top-ranked players in the Finance space include Alerus Financial Corporation (ALRS - Free Report) , Blackstone Inc. (BX - Free Report) and Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (HLI - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Alerus Financial’s bottom line for 2021 is expected to jump 11.5% year over year to $2.81 per share. It has witnessed three upward estimates in the past 30 days and no movement in the opposite direction. Alerus Financial beat earnings estimates thrice in the past four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 23.6%.

Based in Grand Forks, ND, Alerus Financial provides numerous financial services to clients. Its financial strength is reflected by massive total assets of $3.2 billion at third quarter-end, which increased 5.4% for the first nine months of 2021. Rising investment securities will likely keep boosting the company’s asset position in the coming quarters.

Blackstone’s 2021 earnings are expected to rise 64.2% to $4.35 per share. It has witnessed five upward estimate revisions in the past 30 days compared with none in the opposite direction. The company beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average of 23.7%.

Headquartered in New York, Blackstone is well poised to benefit from its fund-raising ability, revenue mix and inorganic expansion strategies. The company’s fee-earning assets under management (AUM) and total AUM consistently demonstrate strong growth, aided by increasing net inflows. Over the last four years (2017-2020), fee-earning AUM witnessed a CAGR of 11.9% and total AUM saw a CAGR of 12.5%.

Houlihan Lokey — headquartered in Los Angeles, CA — provides multiple financial services to clients all over the world. Its growing footprint in Europe and Asia’s investment banking services field will help the company boost strategic and shareholder value in the coming days. Rising average transaction fees will increase corporate finance revenues.

The full-year fiscal 2022 bottom line of Houlihan Lokey is expected to rise 36.8% year over year to $6.32 per share. In the past 30 days, it has witnessed four upward estimate revisions and no downward movement. The company beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average of 39.5%.


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