Anyone interested in Peoples Financial Services Corp. (NASDAQ:PFIS) should probably be aware that the Executive VP & Chief Lending Officer, Jeffrey Drobins, recently divested US$186k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$74.47 each. That sale was 39% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.
Peoples Financial Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent sale by Jeffrey Drobins is the biggest insider sale of Peoples Financial Services shares that we've seen in the last year. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$72.58. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.
Peoples Financial Services insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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!
View our latest analysis for Peoples Financial Services
I will like Peoples Financial Services better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of Peoples Financial Services
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 8.4% of Peoples Financial Services shares, worth about US$61m. 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 Peoples Financial Services Insiders?
Insiders haven't bought Peoples Financial Services stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Peoples Financial Services is growing earnings. 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 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. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Peoples Financial Services and understanding it should be part of your investment process.
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.
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