Devon Energy Insider Lowered Holding By 16% During Last Year

Insiders were net sellers of Devon Energy Corporation's (NYSE:DVN ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Devon Energy

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Devon Energy

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Administration, Tana Cashion, sold US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$51.04 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$34.69. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. Tana Cashion was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Does Devon Energy Boast High 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. Devon Energy insiders own 0.7% 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.

So What Do The Devon Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Devon Energy shares in the last quarter. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Devon Energy insiders selling. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Devon Energy (of which 2 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

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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.