Linda Southern-Heathcott Bought 15% More Shares In ATCO

Those following along with ATCO Ltd. (TSE:ACO.X) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Linda Southern-Heathcott, Vice Chairman of the Board of the company, who spent a stonking CA$1.7m on stock at an average price of CA$49.16. Not only is that a big swing, but it increased their holding size by 15%, which is definitely great to see.

View our latest analysis for ATCO

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At ATCO

Notably, that recent purchase by Linda Southern-Heathcott is the biggest insider purchase of ATCO shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was higher than CA$48.06 (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. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$15m for 306.00k shares. But they sold 2.36k shares for CA$111k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by ATCO insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and 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 undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does ATCO Boast High 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 1.3% of ATCO shares, worth about CA$71m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At ATCO Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of ATCO we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for ATCO that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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 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.