Insiders At Cable One Sold US$4.6m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Many Cable One, Inc. (NYSE:CABO) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

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.

View our latest analysis for Cable One

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Cable One

The Independent Director, Thomas Might, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.5m worth of shares at a price of US$553 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$353). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Cable One shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Cable One insiders own 9.9% of the company, currently worth about US$197m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Cable One Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Cable One shares in the last quarter. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Cable One, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (2 are a bit unpleasant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Cable One.

But note: Cable One may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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 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.