Bullish insiders at Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) loaded up on US$1.5m of stock earlier this year
In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
Check out our latest analysis for Carriage Services
Carriage Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The Founder Melvin Payne made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$871k worth of shares at a price of US$30.02 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$45.62), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 45.59k shares for US$1.5m. But insiders sold 7.98k shares worth US$295k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Carriage Services insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Carriage Services is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insiders at Carriage Services Have Bought Stock Recently
At Carriage Services,over the last quarter, we have observed quite a lot more insider buying than insider selling. Insiders spent US$155k on shares. But Corporate Controller Adeola Olaniyan sold shares worth US$18k. We think insiders may be optimistic about the future, since insiders have been net buyers of shares.
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Carriage Services insiders own 9.8% of the company, worth about US$80m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Carriage Services Insiders?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Carriage Services we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example, Carriage Services has 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.
But note: Carriage Services may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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