Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Oceaneering International

We'd be surprised if Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE:OII) shareholders haven't noticed that the Senior VP & CFO, Alan Curtis, recently sold US$361k worth of stock at US$24.36 per share. On the bright side, that sale was only 8.7% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

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Oceaneering International Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Alan Curtis is the biggest insider sale of Oceaneering International shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$24.40. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower 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 8.7% of Alan Curtis's holding.

Oceaneering International insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Oceaneering International

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Does Oceaneering International 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. It appears that Oceaneering International insiders own 1.7% of the company, worth about US$41m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Oceaneering International Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Oceaneering International 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, Oceaneering International makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Oceaneering International (including 1 which is concerning).

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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.