Potential Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE:ACA) shareholders may wish to note that the President, Antonio Carrillo, recently bought US$498k worth of stock, paying US$78.56 for each share. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 1.5%.
View our latest analysis for Arcosa
Arcosa Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent purchase by President Antonio Carrillo was not the only time they bought Arcosa shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid US$82.27 per share in a US$995k purchase. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$81.50 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 25.97k shares for US$2.1m. But they sold 24.60k shares for US$2.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Arcosa than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
I will like Arcosa better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Arcosa insiders own about US$64m worth of shares. That equates to 1.7% of the company. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Arcosa Insiders?
It is good to see recent purchasing. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. While recent transactions indicate confidence in Arcosa, insiders don't own enough of the company to overcome our cautiousness about the longer term transactions. In short they are likely aligned with shareholders. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Arcosa. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Arcosa and understanding these should be part of your investment process.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.