Have Insiders Been Buying Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX) Shares?

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.’

Check out our latest analysis for Quanex Building Products

Quanex Building Products Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Lead Director Joseph Rupp made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$390k worth of shares at a price of US$13.06 each. That implies that an insider found the current (approximate) price enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even if the share price has increased a bit since then. Joseph Rupp was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Our data indicates that Quanex Building Products insiders own about US$9.0m worth of shares (which is 1.8% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Quanex Building Products Insider Transactions Indicate?

It’s certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we’d like to see, the history of transactions imply that Quanex Building Products insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Quanex Building Products, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.