Energy Insiders Snatch Up Shares in Industry’s Miserable Year

(Bloomberg) -- As U.S energy stocks endure an annus horriblis, industry figures such as Harold Hamm and Kelcy Warren are taking advantage.

Share purchases in the sector made by insiders so far this year stand at $544 million, more than double the total in 2018, according to data from Insider Insights. Insider sales at $1.03 billion are down 72%.

Energy companies have bombed in 2019 while the S&P 500 has rallied almost 25%. Stagnant oil and natural gas are partly to blame, but the U.S. shale industry is also getting squeezed by investors losing patience over disappointing returns. Oilfield-service companies and pipeline operators haven’t escaped the selloff.

Enter the moguls. Hamm, the billionaire founder of shale oil producer Continental Resources Inc., has been one of the very biggest insiders to buy up stock, spending $78.8 million to enlarge his controlling stake via purchases on the open market so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Warren, the chief executive officer and founder of pipeline operator Energy Transfer LP, last week disclosed he had reinvested dividends from his existing stake in the company by buying $45.1 million of common stock, his biggest-ever purchase, the data show.

--With assistance from Brandon Kochkodin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simon Casey in New York at scasey4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Joe Carroll

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