Have BCB Bancorp Insiders Been Selling Stock?

Anyone interested in BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP) should probably be aware that the Executive VP, Ryan Blake, recently divested US$113k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$13.06 each. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 16% in their holding.

Check out our latest analysis for BCB Bancorp

BCB Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Ryan Blake is the biggest insider sale of BCB Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$12.92. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 24.12k shares for US$244k. But they sold 8.68k shares for US$113k. In total, BCB Bancorp 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. BCB Bancorp insiders own about US$29m worth of shares. That equates to 13% 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 Do The BCB Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought BCB Bancorp stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing BCB Bancorp. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for BCB Bancorp and we suggest you have a look.

But note: BCB Bancorp 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.