Favourable Signals For Financial Institutions: Numerous Insiders Acquired Stock
It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Financial Institutions, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:FISI) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
View our latest analysis for Financial Institutions
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Financial Institutions
The Independent Director Robert Latella made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$151k worth of shares at a price of US$15.06 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$15.74. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.
In the last twelve months Financial Institutions insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Financial Institutions 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.
Insider Ownership Of Financial Institutions
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 2.7% of Financial Institutions shares, worth about US$6.5m, according to our data. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Financial Institutions Insiders?
The fact that there have been no Financial Institutions insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Financial Institutions insiders are doubting the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Financial Institutions.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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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.
