Have Pathfinder Bancorp Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We note that the Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBHC) Senior VP & Chief Information Officer, Daniel Phillips, recently sold US$78k worth of stock for US$15.64 per share. It wasn't a huge sale, but it did reduce their holding by 12%. This does not instill confidence.

See our latest analysis for Pathfinder Bancorp

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Pathfinder Bancorp

Notably, that recent sale by Daniel Phillips is the biggest insider sale of Pathfinder Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$16.02, 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 12% of Daniel Phillips's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$115k for 9.59k shares. But they sold 6.06k shares for US$94k. In total, Pathfinder Bancorp 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Does Pathfinder Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Pathfinder Bancorp insiders own about US$19m worth of shares. That equates to 19% 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 Pathfinder Bancorp Tell Us?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Pathfinder Bancorp that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

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.