Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that Philip Metheny, the Senior EVP & CFO of Commercial Bancgroup, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBK) recently shelled out US$96k to buy stock, at US$29.02 per share. That purchase might not be huge but it did increase their holding by 40%.

Commercial Bancgroup Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director, Alan Neely, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$11m worth of shares at a price of US$23.16 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$29.11. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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 49% of Alan Neely's stake.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 39.51k shares for US$967k. But insiders sold 726.51k shares worth US$17m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Commercial Bancgroup 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 Commercial Bancgroup better if I see some big insider buys.

Insider Ownership Of Commercial Bancgroup

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. Commercial Bancgroup insiders own about US$46m worth of shares. That equates to 12% of the company. 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 Commercial Bancgroup Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. We don't take much heart from transactions by Commercial Bancgroup insiders over the last year. But they own a reasonable amount of the company, and there was some buying recently. In short they are likely aligned with shareholders. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

But note: Commercial Bancgroup 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.