This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC)

Some National Research Corporation (NASDAQ:NRC) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Founder, Michael Hays, recently sold a substantial US$3.2m worth of stock at a price of US$54.18 per share. However, that sale only accounted for 0.9% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

See our latest analysis for National Research

National Research Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent sale by Michael Hays was the biggest sale of National Research shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$50.25. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

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

I will like National Research better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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. National Research insiders own about US$338m worth of shares (which is 26% of the company). 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 National Research Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold National Research shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But since National Research is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 2 warning signs for National Research and we suggest you have a look.

But note: National Research 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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