We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Washington Prime Group Inc. (NYSE:WPG).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.
Check out our latest analysis for Washington Prime Group
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Washington Prime Group
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director Louis Conforti bought US$102k worth of shares at a price of US$4.56 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$3.72. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 93.85k shares for US$350k. But insiders sold 17129 shares worth US$98k. In total, Washington Prime Group insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about US$3.73 on average. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Washington Prime Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Insider Ownership
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.7% of Washington Prime Group shares, worth about US$5.5m, according to our data. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Washington Prime Group Insiders?
The fact that there have been no Washington Prime Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Washington Prime Group insiders are doubting the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Washington Prime Group.
But note: Washington Prime Group 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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