Have Five Star Bancorp Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We'd be surprised if Five Star Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBC) shareholders haven't noticed that the President, James Beckwith, recently sold US$178k worth of stock at US$27.74 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 1.3% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

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Five Star Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by President James Beckwith was not the only time they sold Five Star Bancorp shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$26.96 per share in a -US$455k sale. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$27.07, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 3.3% of James Beckwith's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$78k for 2.75k shares. But they sold 35.70k shares for US$1.0m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Five Star Bancorp shares, than buying. 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!

See our latest analysis for Five Star Bancorp

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Five Star Bancorp insiders own about US$147m worth of shares (which is 25% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Five Star Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold Five Star Bancorp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. 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. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Five Star Bancorp you should know about.

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.