Harbour Energy Insiders Placed Bullish Bets Worth US$580.1k

Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of Harbour Energy plc (LON:HBR), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Our free stock report includes 2 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Harbour Energy. Read for free now.

Harbour Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director Linda Cook bought UK£246k worth of shares at a price of UK£2.85 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£1.59). 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. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

Harbour Energy insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. Their average price was about UK£2.30. I'd consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price. 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!

View our latest analysis for Harbour Energy

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).

Harbour Energy Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Harbour Energy. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£277k worth of shares. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

Insider Ownership Of Harbour Energy

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.6% of Harbour Energy shares, worth about UK£15m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Harbour Energy Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of Harbour Energy we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Harbour Energy that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Harbour Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.