Director Of EQT Sold 45% Of Their Shares

We wouldn't blame EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Thomas Karam, the Director recently netted about US$1.5m selling shares at an average price of US$48.74. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 45%, which is notable but not too bad.

See our latest analysis for EQT

EQT Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Director Thomas Karam was not the only time they sold EQT shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$44.95 per share in a -US$2.1m sale. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$48.86). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 19% of Thomas Karam's holding.

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

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. EQT insiders own about US$210m worth of shares (which is 0.7% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The EQT Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought EQT stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 4 warning signs (1 is significant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in EQT.

Of course EQT may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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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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.