Kearny Financial Loses US$56m Market Value But Insiders See Windfall Of US$41k

Insiders who bought Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:KRNY) in the last 12 months may probably not pay attention to the stock's recent 11% drop. After accounting for the recent loss, the US$242.4k worth of shares they purchased is now worth US$283.9k, suggesting a good return on their investment.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Kearny Financial

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Kearny Financial

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Christopher Petermann for US$61k worth of shares, at about US$6.15 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$7.27. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$242k for 39.05k shares. But insiders sold 9.80k shares worth US$59k. In total, Kearny Financial insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Kearny Financial is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Kearny Financial insiders own about US$24m worth of shares. That equates to 5.2% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Kearny Financial Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Kearny Financial shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Kearny Financial insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Kearny Financial and we suggest you have a look.

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.