Have Insiders Been Buying Cooper Energy Limited (ASX:COE) Shares This Year?

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We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Cooper Energy Limited (ASX:COE).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'

See our latest analysis for Cooper Energy

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Cooper Energy

There wasn't any very large single transaction over the last year, but we can still observe some trading.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 173.35k shares worth AU$75k. But they sold 120.00k for AU$50k. In total, Cooper Energy insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around AU$0.43. Although they bought at below the recent price of AU$0.51 per share, it is good to see that insiders are willing to invest in the company. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Cooper Energy better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this freelist of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Cooper Energy Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Cooper Energy, over the last three months. Non Executive Director Hector Gordon divested only AU$50k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the selling simply isn't sufficiently substantial to be of much use as a signal.

Does Cooper Energy Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Cooper Energy insiders own about AU$19m worth of shares. That equates to 2.4% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Cooper Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Cooper Energy shares recently, but they didn't buy any. On the other hand, the insider transactions over the last year are encouraging. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this freereport showing analyst forecasts for its future.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this freelist of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.