Have Insiders Been Buying First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ) Shares This Year?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell First Business Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:FBIZ), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. 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 it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

View our latest analysis for First Business Financial Services

First Business Financial Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Chair of the Board Gerald Kilcoyne for US$100k worth of shares, at about US$14.75 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$27.27. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

First Business Financial Services insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. 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 growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at First Business Financial Services Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some First Business Financial Services insider buying shares in the last three months. Insiders shelled out US$12k for shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 5.8% of First Business Financial Services shares, worth about US$14m. 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 First Business Financial Services Tell Us?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. That said, the purchases were not large. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think First Business Financial Services insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for First Business Financial Services you should be aware of.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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