Have Insiders Sold BlueScope Steel Shares Recently?

We wouldn't blame BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX:BSL) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Mark Vassella, the MD, CEO & Executive Director recently netted about AU$2.4m selling shares at an average price of AU$21.09. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 11%, which is notable but not too bad.

View our latest analysis for BlueScope Steel

BlueScope Steel Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Mark Vassella was the biggest sale of BlueScope Steel 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$20.61. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. 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 22.78k shares worth AU$467k. But insiders sold 116.00k shares worth AU$2.4m. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.5% of BlueScope Steel shares, worth about AU$47m. 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 BlueScope Steel Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for BlueScope Steel is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that BlueScope Steel has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

But note: BlueScope Steel 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.