Investors who take an interest in Extended Stay America, Inc. (NASDAQ:STAY) should definitely note that the Chief Financial Officer, Brian Nicholson, recently paid US$14.76 per share to buy US$148k worth of the stock. That’s a very decent purchase to our minds and it grew their holding by a solid 39.8%.
View our latest analysis for Extended Stay America
Extended Stay America Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Brian Nicholson was the biggest purchase of Extended Stay America shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$14.11. 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$447k for 30695 shares purchased. While Extended Stay America insiders bought shares last year, they didn’t sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Insider Ownership of Extended Stay America
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Extended Stay America insiders own about US$25m worth of shares. That equates to 0.9% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Extended Stay America Insiders?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Extended Stay America we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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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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.