Investors may wish to note that the Executive Vice President of Exco Technologies Limited, Paul Riganelli, recently netted CA$115k from selling stock, receiving an average price of CA$7.68. On the bright side, that's just a small sale and only reduced their holding by 6.4%.
Check out our latest analysis for Exco Technologies
Notably, that recent sale by Paul Riganelli is the biggest insider sale of Exco Technologies shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of CA$7.81. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 6.4% of Paul Riganelli's stake.
All up, insiders sold more shares in Exco Technologies than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like Exco Technologies better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Exco Technologies insiders own about CA$164m worth of shares (which is 54% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
An insider hasn't bought Exco Technologies stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Exco Technologies makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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 assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Exco Technologies.
But note: Exco Technologies 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.