We'd be surprised if CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive VP, Cole Carter, recently sold US$258k worth of stock at US$20.64 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 7.4% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

CoreCivic Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Special Advisor to the CEO and Chairman of the Board, Damon Hininger, sold US$1.6m worth of shares at a price of US$22.50 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$21.82. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).

CoreCivic insiders didn't buy any shares 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like CoreCivic better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of CoreCivic

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. CoreCivic insiders own about US$61m worth of shares. That equates to 2.9% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About CoreCivic Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought CoreCivic stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since CoreCivic is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company.

But note: CoreCivic 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.

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.