Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)

Anyone interested in West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) should probably be aware that the Executive VP, Douglas Gulling, recently divested US$121k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$24.25 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 7.2%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

Check out our latest analysis for West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Douglas Gulling is the biggest insider sale of West Bancorporation shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$25.12). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 7.2% of Douglas Gulling's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 29.46k shares for US$492k. But they sold 5.00k shares for US$121k. In total, West Bancorporation insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. 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 plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Does West Bancorporation Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. West Bancorporation insiders own about US$15m worth of shares. That equates to 3.5% of the company. 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 Does This Data Suggest About West Bancorporation Insiders?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at West Bancorporation, in the last three months. But we take heart from prior transactions. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So the recent selling doesn't worry us too much. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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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