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 BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCBP), it sends a favourable message to the company's shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for BCB Bancorp

BCB Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Chairman of the Board Mark Hogan made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$169k worth of shares at a price of US$11.24 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$11.28. 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. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. Happily, the BCB Bancorp insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months BCB Bancorp insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

BCB Bancorp is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Have BCB Bancorp Insiders Traded Recently?

Independent Director Spencer Robbins bought just US$2.3k worth of shares in that time. That's not much at all. Overall, we don't think these recent trades are particularly informative, one way or the other.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. BCB Bancorp insiders own about US$24m worth of shares. That equates to 13% 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 Do The BCB Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). That said, the purchases were not large. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think BCB Bancorp insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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 BCB Bancorp has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.