We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Level One Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEVL), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.
Level One Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director James Bellinson for US$83k worth of shares, at about US$16.61 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$26.04. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.
In the last twelve months Level One Bancorp 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!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Have Level One Bancorp Insiders Traded Recently?
We've only seen a tiny insider purchase valued at US$948, in the last three months. So it is hard to draw any conclusion about how insiders are feeling about the stock, from these recent trades.
Insider Ownership of Level One Bancorp
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. Level One Bancorp insiders own about US$71m worth of shares. That equates to 36% of the company. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Level One Bancorp Insiders?
We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Level One Bancorp and their transactions don't cause us concern. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Level One Bancorp. Be aware that Level One Bancorp is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...
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 currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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. 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.
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