Who Has Been Buying RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:REI.UN) Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:REI.UN).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.'

View our latest analysis for RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Trustee Edward Sonshine bought CA$748k worth of shares at a price of CA$24.92 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher, an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even above the current price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 44.93k shares for CA$1.1m. But insiders sold 50.21k shares worth CA$600k. In total, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The average buy price was around CA$24.62. Although they bought at below the recent price of CA$24.73 per share, it is good to see that insiders are willing to invest in the company. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions 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!

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this freelist of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. In that period Richard Dansereau spent CA$51k on shares. But Sharon Sallows sold CA$2.9k worth. It is good to see that insiders have been buying, but they did not buy very many shares, in the scheme of things.

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.4% of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust shares, worth about CA$21m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust Insiders?

We note a that there has been a tad more insider buying than selling, recently. But overall the difference isn't worth writing home about. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust insiders are doubting the company. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, you should check out this freereport on analyst forecasts for the company.

But note: RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.

Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.