Insiders were net sellers of Worthington Steel, Inc.'s (NYSE:WS ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders sold more stock than they bought.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Worthington Steel Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Charles Nelson, sold US$371k worth of shares at a price of US$30.89 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$32.01). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. It is worth noting that this sale was only 12% of Charles Nelson's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Charles Nelson.

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 hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. Worthington Steel insiders own about US$504m worth of shares (which is 31% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Worthington Steel Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. It's great to see high levels of insider ownership, but looking back over the last year, we don't gain confidence from the Worthington Steel insiders selling. Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Worthington Steel.

But note: Worthington Steel 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 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.