Beijer Ref Insiders Sell kr16m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

Over the past year, many Beijer Ref AB (publ) (STO:BEIJ B) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Beijer Ref

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Beijer Ref

Notably, that recent sale by Christopher Norbye is the biggest insider sale of Beijer Ref 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 kr155. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place 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.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid kr12m for 78.27k shares. But insiders sold 98.00k shares worth kr16m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Beijer Ref than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Have Beijer Ref Insiders Traded Recently?

We saw insider selling worth kr12m in the last three months. But that was only a smidgen more than the kr12m worth of buying. Ultimately the overall selling isn't enough to tell us much.

Does Beijer Ref Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It's great to see that Beijer Ref insiders own 4.4% of the company, worth about kr3.4b. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Beijer Ref Insiders?

Insider buying and selling have balanced each other out in the last three months, so we can't deduct anything useful from these recent trades. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we'd need to see more buying to gain confidence from the Beijer Ref insider transactions. 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 Beijer Ref has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: Beijer Ref 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.