Insiders were net buyers of Investar Holding Corporation's (NASDAQ:ISTR ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for Investar Holding in our free report.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Investar Holding

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Scott Ginn for US$201k worth of shares, at about US$23.68 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$19.37). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Scott Ginn was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

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!

View our latest analysis for Investar Holding

Investar Holding is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Investar Holding insiders own 7.2% of the company, worth about US$14m. 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 Investar Holding Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Investar Holding insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Investar Holding.

Of course Investar Holding may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.