More money in the bank for insiders who divested US$3.7m worth of Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) shares last year

Despite the fact that Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) stock rose 13% last week, insiders who sold US$3.7m worth of stock in the previous 12 months are likely to be better off. Selling at an average price of US$13.59, which is higher than the current price might have been the right call as holding on to stock would have meant their investment would be worth less now than it was at the time of sale.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Liberty Oilfield Services

Liberty Oilfield Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Ron Gusek, sold US$845k worth of shares at a price of US$17.05 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$12.01). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Liberty Oilfield Services insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at Liberty Oilfield Services Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Liberty Oilfield Services. In total, Founder Christopher Wright dumped US$245k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership of Liberty Oilfield Services

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Liberty Oilfield Services insiders own 3.1% of the company, worth about US$66m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Liberty Oilfield Services Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Liberty Oilfield Services has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

But note: Liberty Oilfield Services 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. 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.