Did Just Energy Group Inc. (TSE:JE) Insiders Buy Up More Shares?

We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Just Energy Group Inc. (TSE:JE).

What Is Insider Buying?

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.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. 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 Just Energy Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Just Energy Group

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Ronald Joyce for CA$378k worth of shares, at about CA$3.78 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of CA$4.69 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Just Energy Group share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 253k shares for CA$1.0m. But insiders sold 12000 shares worth CA$56k. Overall, Just Energy Group insiders were net buyers last year. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

Does Just Energy Group 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. It's great to see that Just Energy Group insiders own 32% of the company, worth about CA$228m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Just Energy Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Just Energy Group shares in the last quarter. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Just Energy Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Just Energy Group.

But note: Just Energy Group 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, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.