Have Insiders Been Buying Trinity Place Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:TPHS) Shares?

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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Trinity Place Holdings Inc. (NYSEMKT:TPHS).

What Is Insider Selling?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. 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.'

Check out our latest analysis for Trinity Place Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Trinity Place Holdings

Additional Independent Director Jeffrey Citrin made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$56k worth of shares at a price of US$5.08 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$4.06 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders paid US$157k for 33742 shares purchased. In the last twelve months Trinity Place Holdings insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by 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 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.

Trinity Place Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Trinity Place Holdings over the last quarter. Insiders shelled out US$35k for shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Trinity Place Holdings insiders own about US$13m worth of shares. That equates to 9.7% 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 Trinity Place Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Trinity Place Holdings and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. Along with insider transactions, I recommend checking if Trinity Place Holdings is growing revenue. This free chart of historic revenue and earnings should make that easy.

Of course Trinity Place Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.