Are Insiders Buying Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:STXB) Stock?
We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:STXB).
What Is Insider Selling?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.
Check out our latest analysis for Spirit of Texas Bancshares
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Spirit of Texas Bancshares
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Robert Beall for US$313k worth of shares, at about US$12.40 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$21.78. 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 Spirit of Texas Bancshares insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Spirit of Texas Bancshares 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
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. It appears that Spirit of Texas Bancshares insiders own 24% of the company, 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 Spirit of Texas Bancshares Insider Transactions Indicate?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Spirit of Texas Bancshares shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Spirit of Texas Bancshares insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Spirit of Texas Bancshares that deserve your attention before buying any shares.
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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