Have BancFirst Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame BancFirst Corporation (NASDAQ:BANF) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that David Rainbolt, the Executive Chairman recently netted about US$3.9m selling shares at an average price of US$106. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 0.4%.

See our latest analysis for BancFirst

BancFirst Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by David Rainbolt is the biggest insider sale of BancFirst shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$106, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 0.4% of David Rainbolt's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$117k for 1.29k shares. But insiders sold 91.29k shares worth US$9.3m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of BancFirst shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership Of BancFirst

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. BancFirst insiders own 34% of the company, currently worth about US$1.2b based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At BancFirst Tell Us?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at BancFirst, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing BancFirst. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with BancFirst (including 1 which can't be ignored).

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.