When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Staten Island, NY)'s (NASDAQ:NFBK) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)

Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Annette Catino was the biggest sale of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$11.85. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 75.85k shares for US$598k. On the other hand they divested 22.30k shares, for US$293k. In total, Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) insiders bought more than they sold 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 click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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

Insiders At Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY). In total, Independent Director Annette Catino dumped US$293k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY)

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 4.9% of Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) shares, worth about US$25m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. It's good to see insiders are shareholders. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Northfield Bancorp (Staten Island NY) may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.