We'd be surprised if Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:BFST) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Joseph Johnson, recently sold US$419k worth of stock at US$27.02 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 4.9% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Business First Bancshares

The Director, Mark Folse, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$25.43 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$26.31, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 just 35% of Mark Folse's stake.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$43k for 2.07k shares. But insiders sold 160.62k shares worth US$3.7m. In total, Business First Bancshares 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 6.2% of Business First Bancshares shares, worth about US$48m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Business First Bancshares Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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 3 warning signs for Business First Bancshares you should be aware of.

But note: Business First Bancshares 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.

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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.