Arcosa Insiders Sold US$2.2m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

Many Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE:ACA) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Arcosa

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Arcosa

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President Antonio Carrillo bought US$995k worth of shares at a price of US$82.27 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$107. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.5m for 18.13k shares. But insiders sold 24.60k shares worth US$2.2m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Arcosa than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Arcosa Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Arcosa insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Independent Director Steven Demetriou spent US$526k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This makes one think the business has some good points.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Arcosa insiders own about US$84m worth of shares. That equates to 1.6% of the company. 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 Arcosa Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. The more recent transactions are a positive, but Arcosa insiders haven't shown the sustained enthusiasm that we look for, although they do own a decent number of shares, overall. In short they are likely aligned with shareholders. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Arcosa.

But note: Arcosa 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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