Have Insiders Been Selling SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) Shares This Year?
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 SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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.’
See our latest analysis for SunTrust Banks
SunTrust Banks Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Co-COO & Wholesale Segment Executive Hugh Cummins made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$759k worth of shares at a price of US$69.00 each. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$54.63. They might be selling for a variety of reasons, but it’s hard to argue this is a bullish sign. Arguably, insider selling at around current prices should give us reason to reflect on whether the stock is fully valued at the moment.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 7.00k shares for US$465k. On the other hand they divested 42.10k shares, for US$2.9m. All up, insiders sold more shares in SunTrust Banks than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$69.76. We don’t gain much confidence from insider selling near the recent share price. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn’t put too much weight on it. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like SunTrust Banks better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership of SunTrust Banks
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. SunTrust Banks insiders own about US$92m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At SunTrust Banks Tell Us?
There haven’t been any insider transactions in the last three months — that doesn’t mean much. Our analysis of SunTrust Banks insider transactions leaves us cautious. But it’s good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in SunTrust Banks, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
But note: SunTrust Banks 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.
