Even if it's not a huge purchase, we think it was good to see that William Esham, the Independent Director of Shore Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHBI) recently shelled out US$100k to buy stock, at US$19.99 per share. Even though that isn't a massive buy, it did increase their holding by 63%, which is arguably a good sign.

Shore Bancshares Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Michael Adams made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$150k worth of shares at a price of US$15.00 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$20.19. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

In the last twelve months Shore Bancshares 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!

Shore Bancshares is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Shore Bancshares insiders own about US$59m worth of shares. That equates to 8.7% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Shore Bancshares Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Shore Bancshares insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Shore Bancshares.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.