Possible Bearish Signals With Air Lease Insiders Disposing Stock

In the last year, many Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. 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, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Air Lease

Air Lease Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO, President & Director, John Plueger, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$2.8m worth of shares at a price of US$40.27 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$49.37. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower 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 8.4% of John Plueger's holding.

In the last year Air Lease insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Air Lease Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Air Lease. In total, insiders sold US$1.6m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of Air Lease

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It's great to see that Air Lease insiders own 6.5% of the company, worth about US$363m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Air Lease Insiders?

Insiders haven't bought Air Lease stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Air Lease (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

But note: Air Lease 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.