Insider Stock Buying Reaches US$3.21m On Hexcel

Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Hexcel Corporation (NYSE:HXL) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Hexcel

Hexcel Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO, President & Director Thomas Gentile bought US$994k worth of shares at a price of US$66.53 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$61.84). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$3.2m for 49.40k shares. But insiders sold 10.16k shares worth US$688k. Overall, Hexcel insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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

Hexcel Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Hexcel. Specifically, Executive VP Gail Lehman ditched US$304k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of Hexcel

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.8% of Hexcel shares, worth about US$39m. 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 Hexcel Insider Transactions Indicate?

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 we're happy enough to look past some selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Hexcel. While conducting our analysis, we found that Hexcel has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

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.