Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In West Bancorporation

We note that the West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA) Director, Douglas Gulling, recently sold US$94k worth of stock for US$23.61 per share. On the bright side, that's just a small sale and only reduced their holding by 6.0%.

View our latest analysis for West Bancorporation

West Bancorporation Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Douglas Gulling was the biggest sale of West Bancorporation shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$23.90. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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 6.0% of Douglas Gulling's holding.

David Nelson bought a total of 5.41k shares over the year at an average price of US$18.03. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

West Bancorporation is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

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. West Bancorporation insiders own about US$21m worth of shares. That equates to 5.2% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The West Bancorporation Insider Transactions Indicate?

The stark truth for West Bancorporation is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're happy enough to look past some selling. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To assist with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of West Bancorporation.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.