Executive Vice President & President of The Americas Of Greenbrier Companies Sold 33% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Brian Comstock, the Executive Vice President & President of The Americas recently netted about US$1.8m selling shares at an average price of US$61.17. That sale reduced their total holding by 33% which is hardly insignificant, but far from the worst we've seen.

View our latest analysis for Greenbrier Companies

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Greenbrier Companies

Notably, that recent sale by Brian Comstock is the biggest insider sale of Greenbrier Companies shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$59.27. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Greenbrier Companies insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Greenbrier Companies Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Greenbrier Companies insiders own about US$63m worth of shares. That equates to 3.4% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Greenbrier Companies Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Greenbrier Companies stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But it is good to see that Greenbrier Companies is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Greenbrier Companies. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Greenbrier Companies.

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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.