Insider Traders Lose US$126k As Century Casinos Drops
The recent 13% drop in Century Casinos, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CNTY) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased US$236.8k worth of stock at an average buy price of US$5.73 over the past 12 months. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$111.3k, which is not what they expected.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for Century Casinos
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Century Casinos
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman & Co-CEO Erwin Haitzmann for US$126k worth of shares, at about US$5.71 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$2.70). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
Century Casinos insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!
Century Casinos is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Does Century Casinos Boast High Insider Ownership?
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that Century Casinos insiders own 11% of the company, worth about US$8.7m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Do The Century Casinos Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no Century Casinos 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 Century Casinos insiders are doubting the company. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Century Casinos you should know about.
Of course Century Casinos may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
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.
