We'd be surprised if Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Mark Lipparelli, recently sold US$347k worth of stock at US$32.20 per share. That sale was 13% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Golden Entertainment Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, Charles Protell, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$41.42 each. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$31.37. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Golden Entertainment insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

I will like Golden Entertainment better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does Golden Entertainment Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Golden Entertainment insiders own about US$50m worth of shares. That equates to 5.6% of the company. 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 Golden Entertainment Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Golden Entertainment shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Golden Entertainment is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Golden Entertainment. Our analysis shows 5 warning signs for Golden Entertainment (3 are concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

But note: Golden Entertainment 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.