Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Mid-Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:MSVB) Independent Director, Eric Koch, recently bought US$64k worth of stock, for US$15.25 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, increasing their shareholding by only 6.9%, it can be interpreted as a good sign.

See our latest analysis for Mid-Southern Bancorp

Mid-Southern Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Eric Koch was the biggest purchase of Mid-Southern Bancorp shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$15.42. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Mid-Southern Bancorp share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Eric Koch.

Eric Koch purchased 11.26k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$14.09. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Mid-Southern Bancorp 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.

Does Mid-Southern Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data indicates that Mid-Southern Bancorp insiders own about US$3.5m worth of shares (which is 7.5% of the company). Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

What Might The Insider Transactions At Mid-Southern Bancorp Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Mid-Southern Bancorp insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Mid-Southern Bancorp.

But note: Mid-Southern Bancorp may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.

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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