Julio Hernando Buys Handful Of Shares In Hingham Institution for Savings

Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Hingham Institution for Savings (NASDAQ:HIFS) Director, Julio Hernando, recently bought US$99k worth of stock, for US$248 per share. Nevertheless, it only increased their shareholding by a minuscule percentage, and it wasn't a massive purchase by absolute value, either.

View our latest analysis for Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Director, Robert Lane, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$760k worth of shares at a price of US$152 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$254, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 8.0% of Robert Lane's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$310k for 1.56k shares. But insiders sold 13.65k shares worth US$2.1m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Hingham Institution for Savings shares, than buying. They sold for an average price of about US$157. It's not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. But we wouldn't put too much weight on the insider selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Hingham Institution for Savings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Hingham Institution for Savings Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. It appears that Hingham Institution for Savings insiders own 17% of the company, worth about US$92m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Hingham Institution for Savings Tell Us?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. Recent insider selling makes us a little nervous, in light of the broader picture of Hingham Institution for Savings insider transactions. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Hingham Institution for Savings.

But note: Hingham Institution for Savings 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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