Stockwatch Energy A different Alberta gas producer recently confirmed to investors that January will bring a big dividend boost. Darren Gee's Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY), down 24 cents to $14.17 on 2.89 million shares, announced last week that it will roughly double its monthly dividend to 11 cents (from five cents) starting in the new year. The big hike came as a pleasant surprise to investors, who have sent Peyto's stock past $14 from around $12 since the announcement on Nov. 9. The announcement also seems to have sparked some insider buying. New SEDI filings show that in the last six days, three directors and officers have spent a total of $4.59-million buying 314,000 shares.
The biggest buyer was Peyto's co-founder, chairman and former CEO, Don Gray, who bought 260,000 shares for $3.79-million. He now controls 1.2 million of Peyto's 172 million shares and can soon look forward to over $132,000 in monthly dividend payments starting in January. Perhaps he will use some of that money to replenish his shareholdings in another promotion of his, Gear Energy Inc. (GXE: $1.27), where he is chairman. SEDI shows that while Mr. Gray was loading up on Peyto, he was also selling over one million shares of Gear for a total of $1.36-million. He still holds 8.1 million of Gear's 258 million shares.