Have Insiders Been Selling Keppel DC REIT (SGX:AJBU) Shares This Year?

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 before you buy or sell Keppel DC REIT (SGX:AJBU), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

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

Keppel DC REIT Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Executive Officer of Keppel DC REIT Management Pte Ltd, Hsien Yang Chua, for S$2.1m worth of shares, at about S$2.97 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of S$2.78. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold 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. Hsien Yang Chua was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid S$45k for 19.20k shares. On the other hand they divested 700.00k shares, for S$2.1m. 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!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own S$3.5m worth of Keppel DC REIT stock, about 0.08% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Keppel DC REIT Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. Our analysis of Keppel DC REIT insider transactions leaves us unenthusiastic. We also note that, as far as we can see, insider ownership is fairly low, compared to other companies. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Keppel DC REIT (1 can't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course Keppel DC REIT 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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. 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.
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