Insiders were net buyers of Ark Restaurants Corp.'s (NASDAQ:ARKR ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Thomas Satterfield made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$137k worth of shares at a price of US$15.73 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$14.15 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Thomas Satterfield.

Thomas Satterfield bought 18.30k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$14.90. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Ark Restaurants is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Ark Restaurants Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Ark Restaurants insiders own 49% of the company, currently worth about US$26m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Ark Restaurants Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Ark Restaurants insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Ark Restaurants insiders think the business has merit. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Ark Restaurants has 3 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Ark Restaurants 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 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.