Insiders At ArcBest Sold US$1.7m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

In the last year, many ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCB) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At ArcBest

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Michael Newcity, for US$1.3m worth of shares, at about US$122 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$73.76). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$254k for 4.12k shares. But insiders sold 14.34k shares worth US$1.7m. All up, insiders sold more shares in ArcBest than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for ArcBest

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does ArcBest 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 1.9% of ArcBest shares, worth about US$31m. 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 ArcBest Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded ArcBest shares in the last quarter. Our analysis of ArcBest insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of ArcBest.

But note: ArcBest 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.