Yahoo Finance Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SASR) recent US$70m market cap decline means a loss of US$32k for insiders who bought this year
Insiders who acquired US$96k worth of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SASR) stock at an average price of US$38.43 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 5.8% price decline. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$64k, which is not great.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
View our latest analysis for Sandy Spring Bancorp
Sandy Spring Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Craig Ruppert for US$96k worth of shares, at about US$38.43 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$25.53 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Craig Ruppert.
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!
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
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 3.0% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares, worth about US$35m. 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 Do The Sandy Spring Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Sandy Spring Bancorp insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Sandy Spring Bancorp, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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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