We note that the FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL) Lead Independent Director, William Gehl, recently sold US$90k worth of stock for US$7.20 per share. On the bright side, that's just a small sale and only reduced their holding by 7.3%.

FreightCar America Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Alejandro Benavides for US$111k worth of shares, at about US$4.87 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$7.08. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of FreightCar America shares, than buying. The average sell price was around US$7.20. It's not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn't put too much weight on it. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does FreightCar America Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. FreightCar America insiders own about US$19m worth of shares. That equates to 14% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The FreightCar America Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold FreightCar America shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing FreightCar America. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of FreightCar America.

But note: FreightCar America 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.