Have Insiders Sold Western Areas Limited (ASX:WSA) Shares Recently?

Anyone interested in Western Areas Limited (ASX:WSA) should probably be aware that the MD, CEO & Director, Daniel Lougher, recently divested AU$175k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of AU$2.33 each. That sale was 13% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Western Areas

In fact, the recent sale by Daniel Lougher was the biggest sale of Western Areas shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of AU$2.25. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 35.00k shares worth AU$65k. On the other hand they divested 75.00k shares, for AU$175k. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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Insider Ownership of Western Areas

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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Based on our data, Western Areas insiders have about 0.5% of the stock, worth approximately AU$2.9m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Western Areas Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Western Areas stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Western Areas is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. We'd certainly practice some caution before buying! 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Western Areas.

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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.

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