We'd be surprised if World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Chairman of the Board, Ken Bramlett, recently sold US$291k worth of stock at US$97.00 per share. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 8.4%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.
Check out our latest analysis for World Acceptance
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At World Acceptance
In fact, the recent sale by Ken Bramlett was the biggest sale of World Acceptance shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$106. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was only 8.4% of Ken Bramlett's holding.
You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. 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: insiders have been buying them).
Does World Acceptance Boast High 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. It appears that World Acceptance insiders own 5.6% of the company, worth about US$35m. 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 World Acceptance Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn't bought World Acceptance 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. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing World Acceptance. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with World Acceptance (including 1 which can't be ignored).
But note: World Acceptance 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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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.