Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Tourmaline Oil

Some Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TSE:TOU) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that insider William Kirker recently sold a substantial CA$4.4m worth of stock at a price of CA$66.37 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 7.7%.

Check out our latest analysis for Tourmaline Oil

Tourmaline Oil Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by William Kirker is the biggest insider sale of Tourmaline Oil shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of CA$64.63. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold 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.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 93.46k shares for CA$5.8m. But they sold 66.00k shares for CA$4.4m. In total, Tourmaline Oil insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. Their average price was about CA$62.11. These transactions show that insiders have confidence to invest their own money in the stock, albeit at slightly below the recent price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Tourmaline Oil is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Tourmaline Oil insiders own 5.0% of the company, worth about CA$1.2b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Tourmaline Oil Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Tourmaline Oil, in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We are also comforted by the high levels of insider ownership. So we're not too bothered by recent selling. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 4 warning signs for Tourmaline Oil and we suggest you have a look.

But note: Tourmaline Oil 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.