Yahoo Finance Should You Take Comfort From Insider Transactions At Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. (NASDAQ:GIFI)?
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. 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 Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. (NASDAQ:GIFI).
What Is Insider Selling?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
View our latest analysis for Gulf Island Fabrication
Gulf Island Fabrication Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Richard Heo was the biggest purchase of Gulf Island Fabrication shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$4.96 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Gulf Island Fabrication insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Richard Heo was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Gulf Island Fabrication is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with 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. From our data, it seems that Gulf Island Fabrication insiders own 5.5% of the company, worth about US$4.2m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Gulf Island Fabrication Insiders?
The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. On this analysis the only slight negative we see is the fairly low (overall) insider ownership; their transactions suggest that they are quite positive on Gulf Island Fabrication 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Gulf Island Fabrication has 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.
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, but not derivative transactions.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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