Air New Zealand Limited (NZSE:AIR) insiders have profited after buying stock worth NZ$3.8m last year, current gains stand at NZ$737k

Air New Zealand Limited (NZSE:AIR) insiders who acquired shares over the previous 12 months, can probably afford to ignore the recent 3.8% decline in the stock price. After accounting for the recent loss, the NZ$3.8m worth of shares they purchased is now worth NZ$4.5m, suggesting a good return on their investment.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for Air New Zealand

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Air New Zealand

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Executive Officer Gregory Foran for NZ$1.5m worth of shares, at about NZ$0.57 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of NZ$0.76. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid NZ$3.8m for 5.97m shares. On the other hand they divested 88.64k shares, for NZ$112k. In total, Air New Zealand insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. Their average price was about NZ$0.63. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Air New Zealand Have Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Air New Zealand over the last quarter. Chief Operational Integrity & Safety Officer David Morgan purchased NZ$39k worth of shares in that period. It's great to see that insiders are only buying, not selling. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Does Air New Zealand Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.6% of Air New Zealand shares, worth about NZ$16m. 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 Do The Air New Zealand Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Air New Zealand and their transactions don't cause us concern. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Air New Zealand has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.