Chart Industries Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$1.13m

Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Chart Industries, Inc. (NYSE:GTLS). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Chart Industries

Chart Industries Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Linda Harty for US$525k worth of shares, at about US$105 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$131), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Chart Industries insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Chart Industries is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Chart Industries Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Chart Industries insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Overall, two insiders shelled out US$248k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

Insider Ownership Of Chart Industries

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. It appears that Chart Industries insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$26m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Chart Industries Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in Chart Industries shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Chart Industries and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

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.