Sizzling Insider Buys for Your High-Yield Watchlist

Insiders are buying stocks like Matador Resources (NYSE: MTDR), NewtekOne (NASDAQ: NEWT), and V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) this year. These stocks are also attractive to average investors because they offer cash flow, yield, and catalysts that can drive their share prices higher over time. This is a look at who’s buying, dividend safety, and how high their share price may go. 

Matador Resources: Insiders Love It

Matador Resources is no stranger to InsiderTrades.com readers. The company is prominently listed in the insider rankings for most look-back periods, boasting regular and periodic purchases by numerous insiders, including directors, the CEO, and other C-suite executives. They own about 5.8% of the stock and may continue to add to their positions this year and into the future. Matador Resources is a small yet operational and profitable oil production company, on track to ramp up production over time. 

Critical details for Matador Resources investors are its capital returns. The capital return includes dividends and share repurchases that help to offset the dilutive impact of share-based compensation awards. The dividend is substantial, yielding about 2.5% in early July, and reliably safe at less than 20% of the 2025 earnings forecast.

The payment has been increased periodically over time and will likely rise again at the fiscal year’s end. 

Analysts and institutions also support this stock. The institutions own more than 90% of it and have been buying the stock on balance each quarter for several years, with activity ramping to record highs in 2025. According to the consensus, analysts rate it as a Moderate Buy and expect it to advance nearly 40% from its early July trading levels. 

NewtekOne Insiders Bet On Big Rebound

NewtekOne is a bank holding company serving the small and medium-sized business industry. Once a BDC, the company is a high-yielding issue worth more than 6% in annualized income. Its insiders have been buying the stock for years and ramped their activity to a multiquarter high in Q2 2025. Buyers include the CEO, the EVP, and several directors, with activity compounded by institutions and analysts.

Neither the institutional holdings nor analysts’ coverage can be called robust, but the institutions are buying, and analysts are holding. InsiderTrades reports institutional interest at nearly 40% and rising quarterly, while the analysts forecast a 20% upside. Potential catalysts include the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to show sequential and YOY growth in revenue and earnings. 

Regarding dividend safety, NewtekOne’s payout ratio is a sustainable 40% of the 2025 earnings forecast. The payout ratio is expected to decline significantly over the next two years, potentially leading to increased distributions. 

VFC Insiders Call The Bottom in This Dividend Stock

VFC has struggled for years but appears to be at a turning point. The company is on the cusp of returning to growth, and the insiders have started buying. After two quarters of inactivity, insiders, including the CEO, a director, and an EVP, bought shares in Q2 2025.

Their activity signals a bottom in the market, but investors still face risk. The institutions and analysts have yet to confirm the turn and may not for another quarter or two. As it is, institutions sold on balance in Q2 and analysts, who have recently reduced their price targets, rate it as a Hold. 

VFC’s dividend was cut a few years ago, and the payment was right-sized for the business. The payout ratio in 2025 is a sustainable 50%, setting it up to revert to distribution growth once business growth resumes. Highlights from 2025 include inventory reduction, which is critical to the turnaround, as well as reduced debt and improved leverage. 

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Experience

Thomas Hughes has been a contributing writer for InsiderTrades.com since 2019.

• Professional Background: Thomas Hughes is the Managing Partner of Passive Market Intelligence LLC, a market research platform he launched in 2023 with the mission: “We watch the market so you don’t have to.” He has worked as a blogger, stock market commentator, and independent analyst since 2010 and has been actively involved in trading and investing since 2005.
• Credentials: He holds an Associate of Arts in Culinary Technology—training that honed his discipline, attention to detail, and ability to anticipate outcomes, all of which carry over into his work as a market analyst.
• Finance Experience: Thomas has been writing about finance and investing since 2011, when he discovered it could be more than a personal passion—it could be a profession. He’s been a contributing writer for InsiderTrades.com since 2019.
• Writing Focus: He specializes in the S&P 500, small-cap stocks, dividend and high-yield strategies, consumer staples, retail, technology, oil, and cryptocurrencies. His analysis blends chart-based technical setups with key fundamental insights, helping readers identify actionable trends.
• Investment Approach: Thomas takes a hybrid approach that combines technical analysis with deep fundamental research. He often writes about macroeconomic shifts, earnings trends, and sentiment-based trading signals.
• Inspiration: Thomas first became interested in stocks after attending a seminar on how to buy and sell your own shares. That event opened his eyes to the market’s potential and sparked a lifelong interest in investing.
• Fun Fact: Thomas took up model railroading by accident a few years ago—and now he can’t stop running the rails.
• Areas of Expertise: Technical and fundamental analysis, S&P 500, retail and consumer sectors, dividends, market trends

Education

Associate of Arts in Culinary Technology