We'd be surprised if Home BancShares, Inc. (NYSE:HOMB) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Operating Officer, John Tipton, recently sold US$379k worth of stock at US$31.59 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 6.1% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Home BancShares

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Co-Founder, John Allison, for US$3.3m worth of shares, at about US$30.02 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$30.83, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 1.6% of John Allison's stake. Notably John Allison was also the biggest buyer, having purchased US$2.7m worth of shares.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Home BancShares shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Home BancShares Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Home BancShares insiders own about US$389m worth of shares (which is 6.2% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Home BancShares Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Home BancShares stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Home BancShares is growing earnings. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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.

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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.