Need To Know: The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Insiders Have Been Buying Shares

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

Check out our latest analysis for Andersons

Andersons Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Director Patrick Mullin bought US$202k worth of shares at a price of US$11.52 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (US$27.75), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$521k for 42.01k shares. But they sold 866.00 shares for US$13k. In total, Andersons insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Andersons is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Andersons insiders own about US$63m worth of shares. That equates to 6.9% 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.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Andersons Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Andersons shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Andersons and their transactions don't cause us concern. While we like knowing 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. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Andersons (1 shouldn't be ignored!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

But note: Andersons 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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