Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Acuity

Some Acuity Inc. (NYSE:AYI) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Senior VP & CFO, Karen Holcom, recently sold a substantial US$659k worth of stock at a price of US$330 per share. That sale reduced their total holding by 14% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

Acuity Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Senior VP & General Counsel, Barry Goldman, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.6m worth of shares at a price of US$370 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$334. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 1.20k shares worth US$341k. But insiders sold 7.69k shares worth US$2.7m. In total, Acuity insiders sold more 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 want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

See our latest analysis for Acuity

I will like Acuity 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.

Does Acuity 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 0.4% of Acuity shares, worth about US$42m. 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 Acuity Insiders?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Acuity is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Acuity and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Acuity 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.