Read This Before Selling Spirit Realty Capital, Inc. (NYSE:SRC) Shares

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. 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 we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Spirit Realty Capital, Inc. (NYSE:SRC).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

View our latest analysis for Spirit Realty Capital

Spirit Realty Capital Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President Jackson Hsieh bought US$299k worth of shares at a price of US$29.31 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$36.84. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Spirit Realty Capital insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

Spirit Realty Capital is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does Spirit Realty Capital Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Spirit Realty Capital insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$22m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Spirit Realty Capital Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Spirit Realty Capital shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Spirit Realty Capital insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Spirit Realty Capital.

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. 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.
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