Ed Lin

Three smaller names in the energy sector that have essentially traded sideways in 2024 recently saw large insider stock buys.

Marathon Petroleum, with a market capitalization of about $47 billion, is the largest of them. The operator of the largest refining system in the U.S., Marathon has seen shares slip 2% so far in 2024, compared with a 27% gain in the S&P 500, of which Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon is a component.

Dorchester Minerals LP, an owner of producing and non-producing oil and natural-gas interests in 28 states, has seen its common units eke out a 3.1% gain year to date. The Dallas-based firm has a market cap of $1.6 billion.

Tiny Granite Ridge Resources calls itself "a hybrid between an oil-and-gas company (based on our assets) and a private-equity firm (based on our investment approach)." Also of Dallas, Granite Ridge sports a market cap of $800 million, and has seen shares turn in a 1.3% rise year to date.

Marathon director Jeffrey Campbell paid $900,000 on Dec. 4 for 6,000 shares, an average price of $149.61 each, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It's his first purchase as a Marathon insider; he only joined the company's board a month ago.

Marathon didn't make Campbell available for comment, and the company also declined to comment. He is a retired vice chairman and chief financial officer of American Express.

Dorchester Minerals CEO Bradley J. Ehrman paid $500,000 on Dec. 3 for 14,430 common units, an average price of $34.41 each. He now owns 23,943 common units in a personal account, and 102,737 more units through a limited liability company.

Dorchester Minerals didn't respond to a request to make Ehrman available for comment. He last purchased stock in June when he paid $82,600 for 2,800 units, an average price of $29.50.

Granite Ridge Co-Chair Matt Miller paid $502,200 from Nov. 20 through Dec. 6 for a total of 79,500 shares, an average price of $6.32 each. He now owns 772,491 shares in a personal account.

In response to a request for comment, Miller emailed the statement: "I bought (and have been buying) GRNT shares because I really believe that Granite Ridge has a unique and compelling value proposition as a 'publicly traded private-equity firm.' Our business model allows us to step in where traditional energy PE is falling short. There's no denying that PE has been raising less capital as investors have become allergic to investing in natural resources, and Granite Ridge has been able to step into the breach and back private firms with capital where PE used to dominate."

Miller most recently purchased Granite Ridge stock on Sept. 13 when he paid $3,100 for 495 shares, an average price of $6.23 each.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron's feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members -- so-called insiders -- as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at edward.lin@barrons.com and follow @BarronsEdLin.

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December 15, 2024 03:00 ET (08:00 GMT)

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