Astral Resources Insider Buyers Pleased With AU$2.3m Return On Investment

Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) insiders who acquired shares over the previous 12 months, can probably afford to ignore the recent 10.0% decline in the stock price. After taking the recent loss into consideration, the AU$2.64m worth of stock they bought is now worth AU$4.89m, indicating that their investment yielded a positive return.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Astral Resources

Astral Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider Simon Braham made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$2.5m worth of shares at a price of AU$0.073 each. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$0.14. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Astral Resources insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Astral Resources Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Astral Resources insider buying shares in the last three months. Insiders purchased AU$75k worth of shares in that period. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Astral Resources insiders own 14% of the company, worth about AU$22m. 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 Astral Resources Tell Us?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Astral Resources we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Astral Resources (3 are a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.