Possible Bearish Signals With WaFd Insiders Disposing Stock

Quite a few WaFd, Inc. (NASDAQ:WAFD) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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WaFd Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Executive VP & Chief Credit Officer, Ryan Mauer, for US$404k worth of shares, at about US$33.33 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$26.43). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

WaFd insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for WaFd

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Does WaFd Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that WaFd insiders own 1.0% of the company, worth about US$20m. 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 WaFd Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. Still, the insider transactions at WaFd in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in the company. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for WaFd .

Of course WaFd 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.