Insider Spends US$288k Buying More Shares In CECO Environmental

Investors who take an interest in CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Richard Wallman, recently paid US$28.77 per share to buy US$288k worth of the stock. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 3.9%.

View our latest analysis for CECO Environmental

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At CECO Environmental

In fact, the recent purchase by Independent Director Richard Wallman was not their only acquisition of CECO Environmental shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$989k worth of shares at a price of US$19.78 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$26.19), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 93.50k shares worth US$1.9m. But they sold 14.50k shares for US$306k. In total, CECO Environmental insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. 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!

CECO Environmental is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 9.6% of CECO Environmental shares, worth about US$93m. 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 CECO Environmental Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of CECO Environmental we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing CECO Environmental. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with CECO Environmental and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

Of course CECO Environmental may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.