Generally, when a single insider buys stock, it is usually not a big deal. However, when several insiders are buying, like in the case of CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for CNB Financial

CNB Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President Michael Peduzzi bought US$100k worth of shares at a price of US$17.85 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$20.41. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$230k for 12.81k shares. But insiders sold 7.81k shares worth US$136k. In total, CNB Financial 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!

CNB Financial is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Are CNB Financial Insiders Buying Or Selling?

There was some insider buying at CNB Financial over the last quarter. President Michael Peduzzi bought US$8.4k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.

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. It appears that CNB Financial insiders own 3.3% of the company, worth about US$14m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About CNB Financial Insiders?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think CNB Financial insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for CNB Financial and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.