Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) Independent Director, Alex Washington, recently bought US$93k worth of stock, for US$93.29 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, increasing their shareholding by only 8.4%, it can be interpreted as a good sign.
Check out our latest analysis for Wintrust Financial
Wintrust Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board H. Hackett bought US$456k worth of shares at a price of US$91.23 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$94.87. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. The good news for Wintrust Financial share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 6.00k shares worth US$549k. But they sold 2.22k shares for US$205k. In total, Wintrust Financial insiders bought more than they sold 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Wintrust Financial is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.4% of Wintrust Financial shares, worth about US$79m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Wintrust Financial Tell Us?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Wintrust Financial 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Wintrust Financial and we suggest you have a look.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.
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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.
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