Have Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) Insiders Been Selling Their Stock?

Anyone interested in Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) (NASDAQ:NFBK) should probably be aware that the Executive VP of Business Development & Branch Administration, Robin Lefkowitz, recently divested US$152k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$16.90 each. That sale was 13% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

View our latest analysis for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)

Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Robin Lefkowitz was the biggest sale of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$16.79. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 20.84k shares for US$243k. On the other hand they divested 16.50k shares, for US$249k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$15.08. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn't put too much weight on it. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 4.4% of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) shares, worth about US$38m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Insider Transactions Indicate?

Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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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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.
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