Element Fleet Management Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$2.08m

In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Element Fleet Management Corp. (TSE:EFN) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Element Fleet Management

The Vice Chair, James Halliday, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$1.1m worth of shares at a price of CA$31.50 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of CA$36.59. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. It is worth noting that this sale was only 39% of James Halliday's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid CA$2.1m for 64.85k shares. But they sold 60.00k shares for CA$2.0m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Element Fleet Management insiders. The average buy price was around CA$32.02. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Element Fleet Management

Element Fleet Management 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.

Insiders At Element Fleet Management Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Element Fleet Management over the last quarter. insider Jose Tamayo bought CA$14k worth of shares in that time. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does Element Fleet Management Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. 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 0.2% of Element Fleet Management shares, worth about CA$25m. 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 Element Fleet Management Insiders?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Insiders own shares in Element Fleet Management and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Element Fleet Management has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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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.