Insiders who acquired US$116k worth of Culp, Inc.'s (NYSE:CULP) stock at an average price of US$9.95 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 19% price decline. This is not good as insiders invest based on expectations that their money will appreciate over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their original investment is now worth only US$49k.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Culp

Culp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Fred Jackson bought US$103k worth of shares at a price of US$10.31 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$4.24). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

While Culp insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. 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!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership of Culp

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. From our data, it seems that Culp insiders own 5.0% of the company, worth about US$2.6m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Culp Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Culp stock. 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 that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Culp (including 1 which is potentially serious).