Have Insiders Been Selling Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) Shares This Year?
Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card!
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB).
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
See our latest analysis for Berkshire Hills Bancorp
Berkshire Hills Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the , Patrick Sheehan, sold US$1.9m worth of shares at a price of US$30.85 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$31.39). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was 93% of Patrick Sheehan's holding. Patrick Sheehan was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 11722 shares worth US$334k. On the other hand they divested 101k shares, for US$3.1m. Patrick Sheehan divested 101k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$30.60. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Berkshire Hills Bancorp Insiders Bought Stock Recently
There was some insider buying at Berkshire Hills Bancorp over the last quarter. Director John Davies bought US$30k worth of shares in that time. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 5.7% of Berkshire Hills Bancorp shares, worth about US$92m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Berkshire Hills Bancorp Tell Us?
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. Our analysis of Berkshire Hills Bancorp insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Berkshire Hills Bancorp.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
