Catalyst Bancorp (CLST) Director Kirk E. Kleiser Exercises Options

What Happened
Kirk E. Kleiser, a director of Catalyst Bancorp (CLST), exercised a total of 17,457 stock options on September 16, 2026, resulting in the acquisition of 17,457 common shares. He paid $6,390 for 529 shares at $12.08 each and $225,142 for 16,928 shares at $13.30 each, for an aggregate cash outlay of $231,532. The filing also reports derivative-to-share conversion entries at $0, reflecting the exercised options converting into underlying shares.

Key Details

• Transaction date: September 16, 2026; Filing date: September 18, 2026 (timely filing).
• Options exercised: 529 @ $12.08 (paid $6,390); 16,928 @ $13.30 (paid $225,142); total shares acquired = 17,457; total paid ≈ $231,532.
• Derivative/Disposition lines at $0 represent conversion of the exercised options into shares (not sales for cash).
• Shares owned after the transaction: not explicitly stated in this filing.
• Relevant footnotes:
  • F1/F5: These options vest at 20% per year (one tranche began vesting 6/10/2026; another began 9/1/2023); the filing notes 529 and 16,928 options were exercised as of this date.
  • F2–F4/F6: References to other grants and unvested portions under the Issuer’s 2022 Recognition and Retention Plan (various vesting schedules, some commencing 6/10/2027).

Context

• This was an option exercise (SEC transaction code “M”), meaning Kleiser purchased common shares by exercising previously granted options. There is no indication in this filing that the acquired shares were immediately sold (i.e., not a cashless sale).
• Exercises are often routine as options vest; they are not direct buy/sell market signals but do show the director converted vested equity into stock ownership.