St Barbara Gains 20%, Insider Trades Reap Benefit

St Barbara Limited (ASX:SBM) insiders who purchased shares in the last 12 months were richly rewarded last week. The stock climbed by 20% resulting in a AU$33m addition to the company’s market value. As a result, their original purchase of AU$93.8k worth of stock is now worth AU$122.5k.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for St Barbara

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At St Barbara

The MD, CEO & Director Andrew Strelein made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$94k worth of shares at a price of AU$0.19 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$0.24), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

St Barbara is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From looking at our data, insiders own AU$6.5m worth of St Barbara stock, about 3.2% of the company. We consider this fairly low insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At St Barbara Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more St Barbara stock. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report 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 free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.