Trade Alert: The Independent Director Of Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL), Matthew Farrell, Has Just Spent US$493k Buying 66% More Shares

Potential Lydall, Inc. (NYSE:LDL) shareholders may wish to note that the Independent Director, Matthew Farrell, recently bought US$493k worth of stock, paying US$16.43 for each share. That certainly has us anticipating the best, especially since they thusly increased their own holding by 66%, potentially signalling some real optimism.

See our latest analysis for Lydall

Lydall Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Matthew Farrell is the biggest insider purchase of Lydall shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$20.37 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Lydall insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Matthew Farrell was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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!

Lydall 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.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Lydall insiders own about US$18m worth of shares. That equates to 5.1% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Lydall Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Insiders likely see value in Lydall shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Lydall you should be aware of.

But note: Lydall may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, but not derivative transactions.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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