Insiders snap up long-term care shares

Insiders snap up long-term care shares

	Published : Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:52 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of long-term care facilities have fallen to 52-week lows in recent months, driven by the soft housing market, broader credit market problems and concerns about excessive supply driven by new construction.

This month, insiders at these facilities have taken advantage of the discount prices by snapping up their companies' shares, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings and data compiled by InsiderScore.com, a Web site that tracks insider transactions.

After Brookdale Senior Living Inc.'s stock reached a 52-week low of $33.53 on Aug. 16, Director Jeffrey G. Edwards bought 1.25 million shares, increasing his stake to 2.75 million shares.

Emeritus Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel R. Baty has bought 84,900 shares of his company's stock since mid-August and Director Stanley Baty has bought 7,900 shares. Emeritus shares plunged from a 52-week high of $39.40 on June 15 to $19.99, close to their 52-week low, on Aug. 15.

At LHC Group Inc., which operates long-term acute care hospitals, insiders have bought 9,000 shares since Aug. 17.

LHC Group shares, which have declined since April, hit a 52-week low of $18.58 on Aug. 23 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would cut payments to providers of home care services. LHC also offers home-based health care services.

Earlier in the month, then-Chief Financial Officer Barry E. Stewart bought 25,000 shares of LHC stock. One week later, the company said he had resigned for personal reasons.

Manor Care Inc., on the other hand, is trading near a 52-week high since the company agreed in July to a $4.9 billion takeover by private equity firm Carlyle Group. To capitalize on the $67 per share offer price, Director Richard C. Tuttle bought 5,000 Manor Care shares on Aug. 14 and Aug. 16 for $60.21 and $61.84.

InsiderScore.com noted that insiders at some troubled hospital operators are also buying stock. At Tenet Healthcare Corp., where shares are trading near a two-decade low, a group of insiders has bought 219,500 shares since Aug. 21. Director and former Florida governor Jeb Bush was among the buying insiders. He bought 15,000 shares for $3.31 on Wednesday.

Tenet has recorded declines in admissions and outpatient visits, while uninsured visitors increased. As a result, bad debt, or payments the hospital operator might never collect, have weighed down profits.

At Health Management Associates Inc., which has also struggled with bad debt costs, insiders bought 368,330 shares this month, which included a purchase of 300,000 shares by CEO Burke W. Whitman.

Health Management shares hit a 52-week low of $6.63 at the beginning of August after plunging from a high of $21.59 in January.