Don't Ignore The Insider Selling In Koppers Holdings

We'd be surprised if Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) shareholders haven't noticed that the Chief Accounting Officer, Bradley Pearce, recently sold US$112k worth of stock at US$37.19 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 10% in their holding.

See our latest analysis for Koppers Holdings

Koppers Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President & COO, James Sullivan, sold US$967k worth of shares at a price of US$44.22 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$37.56). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

Koppers Holdings insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. 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

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by 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 Koppers Holdings insiders own 4.3% of the company, worth about US$33m. 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 Do The Koppers Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 2 warning signs for Koppers Holdings (1 can't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.

Of course Koppers Holdings 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.