Pleasing Signs As A Number Of Insiders Buy ECB Bancorp Stock
Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBK), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Check out our latest analysis for ECB Bancorp
ECB Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO, President & Director Richard O'Neil bought US$111k worth of shares at a price of US$11.05 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$11.50. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the ECB Bancorp insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.
ECB Bancorp 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!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Does ECB Bancorp Boast High 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. From our data, it seems that ECB Bancorp insiders own 7.1% of the company, worth about US$7.5m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!
So What Does This Data Suggest About ECB Bancorp Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if ECB Bancorp insiders bought more shares in 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. For example - ECB Bancorp has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.
Of course ECB Bancorp 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.
