Have Insiders Been Selling Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares?
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF).
What Is Insider Selling?
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.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that ‘insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers’.
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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Stifel Financial
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when Ben Plotkin sold US$570k worth of shares at a price of US$63.30 per share. Although we don’t gain confidence from insider selling, we note that this large sale was at well above current price of US$46.21. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 10.57k shares worth US$507k. On the other hand they divested 25.26k shares, for US$1.5m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Stifel Financial shares, than buying. The sellers received a price of around US$58.75, on average. Insider selling doesn’t make us excited to buy. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$46.21. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Stifel Financial Insiders Bought Stock Recently
It’s good to see that Stifel Financial insiders have made notable investments in the company’s shares. In total, insiders bought US$507k worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.
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. Stifel Financial insiders own about US$113m worth of shares (which is 3.7% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Stifel Financial Tell Us?
It’s certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn’t so positive. Overall, we’d prefer see a more sustained buying from directors, but with a significant insider holding and more recent purchases, Stifel Financial insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Stifel Financial, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note: Stifel Financial 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.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
