Evergy Insiders Sell US$4.4m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution

In the last year, many Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVRG) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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Evergy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, Kevin Bryant, for US$3.0m worth of shares, at about US$62.93 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$69.80. 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. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of Kevin Bryant's holding.

Insiders in Evergy didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Evergy

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Evergy Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Evergy. In total, Independent Director Sandra A. Lawrence sold US$157k 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 Evergy

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. Evergy insiders own about US$28m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Evergy Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Evergy 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. But since Evergy is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! 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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Evergy (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant).

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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.