Chief Financial Officer Todd Dissinger Sold A Bunch Of Shares In Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

Anyone interested in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE:NGVC) should probably be aware that the Chief Financial Officer, Todd Dissinger, recently divested US$230k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$15.30 each. That sale was 29% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

View our latest analysis for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

In fact, the recent sale by Todd Dissinger was the biggest sale of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$16.49). 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 29% of Todd Dissinger's holding.

Todd Dissinger divested 25.60k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$15.81. 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!

I will like Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage insiders own 40% of the company, currently worth about US$148m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage 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. On the plus side, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage makes money, and is growing profits. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage and we suggest you have a look.

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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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