Norfolk Southern Insiders Added US$5.45m Of Stock To Their Holdings

Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Norfolk Southern

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Norfolk Southern

The Independent Chairman Claude Mongeau made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.2m worth of shares at a price of US$221 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$242. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. 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. Happily, the Norfolk Southern insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$5.4m for 23.77k shares. But they sold 4.54k shares for US$1.0m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Norfolk Southern insiders. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Norfolk Southern Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Norfolk Southern. In total, insiders bought US$444k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.07% of Norfolk Southern shares, worth about US$36m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Norfolk Southern Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Norfolk Southern we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While it's good to be aware of 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Norfolk Southern that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Norfolk Southern may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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 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.