Accel Entertainment Insiders Sold US$1.4m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

The fact that multiple Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:ACEL) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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.

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

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Accel Entertainment

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Vice Chairman of the Board & Co-Founder, Gordon Rubenstein, for US$613k worth of shares, at about US$11.24 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$9.64. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Insiders in Accel Entertainment didn't buy any shares in 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!

See our latest analysis for Accel Entertainment

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Does Accel Entertainment Boast High Insider Ownership?

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 10% of Accel Entertainment shares, worth about US$82m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Accel Entertainment Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Accel Entertainment insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Accel Entertainment insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Accel Entertainment you should be aware of.

Of course Accel Entertainment 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.