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It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in Southern First Bancshares, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SFST) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
See our latest analysis for Southern First Bancshares
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Southern First Bancshares
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP, Michael Dowling, sold US$115k worth of shares at a price of US$57.55 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$42.54). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 5.23k shares worth US$233k. But they sold 2.03k shares for US$116k. In total, Southern First Bancshares insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Southern First Bancshares is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insiders At Southern First Bancshares Have Bought Stock Recently
It's good to see that Southern First Bancshares insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. In total, insiders bought US$112k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.
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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Southern First Bancshares insiders own 6.0% of the company, worth about US$20m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Southern First Bancshares Tell Us?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Southern First Bancshares insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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 assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Southern First Bancshares.