Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) insiders sold US$13m worth of stock suggesting impending weakness.

In the last year, many Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE:FIX) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. 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, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Comfort Systems USA

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Comfort Systems USA

The Independent Chairman, Franklin Myers, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.1m worth of shares at a price of US$123 each. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$124, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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 14% of Franklin Myers's holding.

In total, Comfort Systems USA insiders sold more 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!

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Have Comfort Systems USA Insiders Traded Recently?

There was only a small bit of insider buying, worth US$571, in the last three months. Overall, we don't think these recent trades are particularly informative, one way or the other.

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Comfort Systems USA insiders own about US$84m worth of shares. That equates to 1.9% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Comfort Systems USA Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. That said, the purchases were not large. Still, the insider transactions at Comfort Systems USA in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Comfort Systems USA.

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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, 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.