Favourable Signals For Federal Agricultural Mortgage: Numerous Insiders Acquired Stock \

When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation's (NYSE:AGM) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Federal Agricultural Mortgage

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Federal Agricultural Mortgage

The insider Robert Sexton made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$250k worth of shares at a price of US$125 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$137. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Federal Agricultural Mortgage share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 2.58k shares for US$324k. But insiders sold 2.41k shares worth US$302k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Federal Agricultural Mortgage insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Federal Agricultural Mortgage is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Federal Agricultural Mortgage Insiders Bought Stock Recently

At Federal Agricultural Mortgage,over the last quarter, we have observed quite a lot more insider buying than insider selling. Insiders spent US$324k on shares. On the other hand, Independent Director Charles Stones netted US$50k by selling. The buying outweighs the selling, which suggests that insiders may believe the company will do well in the future.

Insider Ownership Of Federal Agricultural Mortgage

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 1.5% of Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares, worth about US$22m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Federal Agricultural Mortgage Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in Federal Agricultural Mortgage shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Federal Agricultural Mortgage and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.