How Much Are Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAP) Insiders Spending On Buying Shares?

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:USAP).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Universal Stainless & Alloy Products

Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Commercial Officer & Executive VP Christopher Zimmer for US$258k worth of shares, at about US$5.64 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$10.75), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Christopher Zimmer bought 62.42k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$6.85. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Universal Stainless & Alloy Products 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.

Insider Ownership of Universal Stainless & Alloy Products

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Based on our data, Universal Stainless & Alloy Products insiders have about 4.1% of the stock, worth approximately US$3.9m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Universal Stainless & Alloy Products shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Universal Stainless & Alloy Products stock. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Universal Stainless & Alloy Products and we suggest you have a look.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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