This GrainCorp Insider Reduced Their Stake By 38%

Looking at GrainCorp Limited's (ASX:GNC ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for GrainCorp

GrainCorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO, MD & Director, Robert Spurway, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$2.0m worth of shares at a price of AU$7.47 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of AU$9.23, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 38% of Robert Spurway's holding. Robert Spurway was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$140k for 19.01k shares. On the other hand they divested 267.71k shares, for AU$2.0m. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. GrainCorp insiders own about AU$17m worth of shares. That equates to 0.8% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At GrainCorp Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no GrainCorp insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by GrainCorp insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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 3 warning signs for GrainCorp you should be aware of, and 1 of these makes us a bit uncomfortable.

Of course GrainCorp may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.