Wilmington Capital Management Insiders CA$2.9m Short Of Breakeven On Stock Purchase

Insiders who bought CA$5.96m worth of Wilmington Capital Management Inc. (TSE:WCM.A) stock in the last year recovered part of their losses as the stock rose by 12% last week. However, the purchase is proving to be a costly gamble, since losses made by insiders have totalled CA$2.9m since the time of purchase.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Wilmington Capital Management

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Wilmington Capital Management

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Ian Cockwell bought CA$6.0m worth of shares at a price of CA$5.30 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$2.75). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. Ian Cockwell was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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!

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).

Does Wilmington Capital Management Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Wilmington Capital Management insiders own about CA$18m worth of shares (which is 50% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Wilmington Capital Management Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Wilmington Capital Management. Nice! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 5 warning signs for Wilmington Capital Management (2 are potentially serious!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

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.