Multiple insiders secured a larger position in CECO Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ:CECO) 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.

Check out our latest analysis for CECO Environmental

CECO Environmental Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Director Richard Wallman for US$989k worth of shares, at about US$19.78 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$27.26. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 71.50k shares worth US$1.5m. But insiders sold 14.50k shares worth US$306k. Overall, CECO Environmental insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

CECO Environmental Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at CECO Environmental. We can see that Independent Director Richard Wallman paid US$288k for shares in the company. No-one sold. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Does CECO Environmental Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. CECO Environmental insiders own about US$93m worth of shares. That equates to 9.7% of the company. 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 CECO Environmental Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest CECO Environmental insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that CECO Environmental has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.