Yahoo Finance Insider Buying: The CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Director Just Bought US$308k Worth Of Shares
Investors who take an interest in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) should definitely note that the Director, David Lesar, recently paid US$17.98 per share to buy US$308k worth of the stock. However, it only increased shareholding by a small percentage, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.
See our latest analysis for CenterPoint Energy
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CenterPoint Energy
Notably, that recent purchase by David Lesar is the biggest insider purchase of CenterPoint Energy shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$16.92). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
While CenterPoint Energy insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insider Ownership
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. CenterPoint Energy insiders own about US$21m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Do The CenterPoint Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in CenterPoint Energy shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for CenterPoint Energy (1 is a bit concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
Of course CenterPoint Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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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