Insiders at Sasol Limited (JSE:SOL) sold R11m worth of stock, possibly indicating weakness in the future

Sasol Limited (JSE:SOL) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, 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 we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Sasol

Sasol Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Fleetwood Grobler, sold R3.9m worth of shares at a price of R270 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (R231). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Sasol insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Sasol Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Sasol shares. In total, insiders sold R11m 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

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at Sasol, though insiders do hold about R14m worth of shares. It's always possible we are missing something but from our data, it looks like insider ownership is minimal.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Sasol Tell Us?

Insiders haven't bought Sasol stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Sasol makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Sasol has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore them.

But note: Sasol 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.