Quite a few Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Regions Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider William Rhodes for US$969k worth of shares, at about US$19.37 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$19.20 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. William Rhodes was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Regions Financial shares, than buying. 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!

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).

Insiders At Regions Financial Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significantly more insider buying, than insider selling, at Regions Financial. We can see that insider William Rhodes paid US$969k for shares in the company. On the other hand, Senior EVP & Head of Wealth Management Group William Ritter netted US$459k by selling. The buying outweighs the selling, which suggests that insiders may believe the company will do well in the future.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Regions Financial insiders own 0.3% of the company, worth about US$56m. 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 Regions Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The more recent transactions are a positive, but Regions Financial insiders haven't shown the sustained enthusiasm that we look for, although they do own a decent number of shares, overall. So they seem pretty well aligned, overall. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.

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