Yahoo Finance Did City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 before you buy or sell City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.
View our latest analysis for City Office REIT
City Office REIT Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director James Farrar bought US$86k worth of shares at a price of US$7.48 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$10.98. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
City Office REIT insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership of City Office REIT
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. It appears that City Office REIT insiders own 2.5% of the company, worth about US$12m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At City Office REIT Tell Us?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded City Office REIT shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders do have a stake in City Office REIT and their transactions don't cause us concern. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for City Office REIT (1 is a bit concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.
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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