Fortis Insiders Added CA$1.84m Of Stock To Their Holdings

Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Fortis

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Fortis

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President David Hutchens bought CA$1.3m worth of shares at a price of CA$52.34 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of CA$59.74. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 35.17k shares for CA$1.8m. But they sold 8.47k shares for CA$454k. In total, Fortis insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Fortis is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Fortis Insiders Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Fortis insider buying shares in the last three months. Insiders bought CA$45k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that Fortis insiders own 0.1% of the company, worth about CA$31m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Fortis Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Fortis and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Be aware that Fortis is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.