Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of First National Financial Stephen J. Smith Buys More Stock

Those following along with First National Financial Corporation (TSE:FN) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Stephen J. Smith, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of the company, who spent a stonking CA$4.7m on stock at an average price of CA$42.74. There's no denying a buy of that magnitude suggests conviction in a brighter future, although we do note that proportionally it only increased their holding by 0.5%.

Check out our latest analysis for First National Financial

First National Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Stephen J. Smith is the biggest insider purchase of First National Financial shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is CA$43.03. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for First National Financial share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

While First National Financial insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. 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 undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of First National Financial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that First National Financial insiders own 38% of the company, worth about CA$991m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The First National Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest First National Financial insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Looks promising! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing First National Financial. For example - First National Financial has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: First National Financial may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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.