Shale insiders snapping up stock as prices hit record lows

TORONTO (Bloomberg) --Shale insiders are swooping in to buy stock in their ailing firms this week after an oil price war erupted between Saudi Arabia and Russia late Sunday.

The purchases come as many shares are trading at record lows, and companies have responded by slashing capital spending and operating costs to protect their balance sheets in the midst of weak crude oil prices.

Ray Davis, Energy Transfer LP board member and co-owner of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, scooped up 1.28 million shares in the pipeline company at an average price of $7.77 on March 9, according to a filing. The Texas-based billionaire is the fifth-largest holder in Energy Transfer with about a 3.3% stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Another purchase came from NuStar Energy LP Chairman William Greehey, who bought 200,000 NuStar shares at an average price of $12.24, according to a filing. Greehey is the third largest holder in the midstream firm, with a 9.02% stake, Bloomberg data show.

Elsewhere, Travis Stice, CEO of shale driller Diamondback Energy Inc., bought 17,146 indirectly owned shares at an average price of $28.40 on March 10, a filing showed. Range Resources Corp. board member Steffen Palko also bought 903,128 shares for an average price of $2.20, increasing his holdings in the underperforming natural gas driller to 1 million shares.