Sterling Infrastructure Insiders Sell US$3.4m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

In the last year, many Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRL) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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.

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Sterling Infrastructure Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & Interim CFO, Ronald Ballschmiede, for US$2.7m worth of shares, at about US$144 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$210). 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. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 7.5% of Ronald Ballschmiede's holding.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Sterling Infrastructure shares, than buying. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Sterling Infrastructure

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Does Sterling Infrastructure Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Sterling Infrastructure insiders own about US$169m worth of shares (which is 2.7% 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 Sterling Infrastructure Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Sterling Infrastructure insiders selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Sterling Infrastructure. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is a bit concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Sterling Infrastructure.

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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.