Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Star Equity Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRR). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic 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.

Star Equity Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Director Jeffrey Eberwein for US$3.0m worth of shares, at about US$10.43 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$10.50. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. 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. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months Star Equity Holdings insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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.

Insiders At Star Equity Holdings Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Star Equity Holdings over the last quarter. Insiders purchased US$34k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

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. It appears that Star Equity Holdings insiders own 32% of the company, worth about US$12m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Star Equity Holdings Insiders?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Star Equity Holdings and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Star Equity Holdings.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.