Who Has Been Buying BankFinancial Corporation (NASDAQ:BFIN) Shares?

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in BankFinancial Corporation (NASDAQ:BFIN).

What Is Insider Selling?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

Check out our latest analysis for BankFinancial

BankFinancial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director Glen Wherfel made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$217k worth of shares at a price of US$8.70 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$9.62. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. 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. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months BankFinancial insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

BankFinancial is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

BankFinancial Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, BankFinancial insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. We can see that Independent Director Glen Wherfel paid US$217k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership of BankFinancial

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. From our data, it seems that BankFinancial insiders own 5.0% of the company, worth about US$6.9m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!

So What Do The BankFinancial Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that BankFinancial insiders are expecting 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with BankFinancial and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

But note: BankFinancial 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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