Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Total Energy Services Inc. (TSE:TOT) President, Daniel Halyk, recently bought CA$89k worth of stock, for CA$12.17 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, by either a percentage standpoint or absolute value, it can be seen as a good sign.
In fact, the recent purchase by President Daniel Halyk was not their only acquisition of Total Energy Services shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of CA$271k worth of shares at a price of CA$8.90 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of CA$13.45. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn’t tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 201.14k shares worth CA$2.0m. But they sold 37.50k shares for CA$435k. In total, Total Energy Services insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about CA$10.06 on average. To my mind it is good 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. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
See our latest analysis for Total Energy Services
Total Energy Services is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Total Energy Services insiders own about CA$48m worth of shares. That equates to 9.8% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it’s enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Total Energy Services we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it’s also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We’ve spotted 1 warning sign for Total Energy Services you should be aware of.
