One Valaris Insider Raised Stake By 11% In Previous Year

Insiders were net buyers of Valaris Limited's (NYSE:VAL ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

See our latest analysis for Valaris

Valaris Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by John Fredriksen was the biggest purchase of Valaris shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$55.68 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. John Fredriksen was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insiders At Valaris Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significantly more insider buying, than insider selling, at Valaris. In total, insider John Fredriksen bought US$33m worth of shares in that time. But insiders only sold shares worth US$4.0m. Insiders have spent more buying shares than they have selling, so on balance we think they are are probably optimistic.

Insider Ownership Of Valaris

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. 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's great to see that Valaris insiders own 8.8% of the company, worth about US$358m. 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 Valaris Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Valaris. That's what I like to see! 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 1 warning sign for Valaris you should know about.

Of course Valaris 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.