Investors may wish to note that the Director of West Bancorporation, Inc., Douglas Gulling, recently netted US$94k from selling stock, receiving an average price of US$23.61. On the bright side, that's just a small sale and only reduced their holding by 6.0%.
West Bancorporation Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent sale by Douglas Gulling is the biggest insider sale of West Bancorporation shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$23.90. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 6.0% of Douglas Gulling's holding.
David Nelson bought a total of 5.41k shares over the year at an average price of US$18.03. 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!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Does West Bancorporation Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that West Bancorporation insiders own 5.2% of the company, worth about US$21m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The West Bancorporation Insider Transactions Indicate?
The stark truth for West Bancorporation is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. We like that insiders own a fair amount of the company. So we're not overly bothered by recent selling. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing West Bancorporation. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for West Bancorporation you should be aware of.
Of course West Bancorporation 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.
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.
