Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Vestis Corporation (NYSE:VSTS) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Vestis

Vestis Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Vice Chairman Douglas Pertz for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$10.02 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$14.12), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months Vestis insiders were buying shares, but not selling. Their average price was about US$11.62. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. But we must note that the investments were made at well below today's share price. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Vestis is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From our data, it seems that Vestis insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about US$8.8m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Vestis Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Vestis stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Vestis. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Vestis you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

Of course Vestis 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.