We wouldn't blame Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGBN) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Lindsey Rheaume, the Executive Vice President recently netted about US$506k selling shares at an average price of US$22.98. That diminished their holding by a very significant 71%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.

Eagle Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Lindsey Rheaume is the biggest insider sale of Eagle Bancorp shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$23.49). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was 71% of Lindsey Rheaume's stake.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 22.42k shares worth US$404k. But they sold 31.28k shares for US$721k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Eagle Bancorp 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!

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Does Eagle Bancorp Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Eagle Bancorp insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$24m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Eagle Bancorp Tell Us?

An insider sold Eagle Bancorp shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. 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. For example, Eagle Bancorp has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

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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.