Trade Alert: The Executive VP & CFO Of CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL), Indraneel Dev, Has Just Spent US$270k Buying Shares
Potential CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:CTL) shareholders may wish to note that the Executive VP & CFO, Indraneel Dev, recently bought US$270k worth of stock, paying US$9.00 for each share. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 4.0%.
See our latest analysis for CenturyLink
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CenturyLink
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by President Jeffrey Storey for US$491k worth of shares, at about US$9.83 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$9.28. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.8m for 182.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 3072 shares, for US$43k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by CenturyLink insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
CenturyLink 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
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 0.8% of CenturyLink shares, worth about US$86m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The CenturyLink Insider Transactions Indicate?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss last year, which makes us a little cautious. Insiders likely see value in CenturyLink shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that CenturyLink has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.
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, but not derivative transactions.
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.
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