Investors who take an interest in Overseas Education Limited (SGX:RQ1) should definitely note that the CEO & Executive Director, Lok Hiong Wong, recently paid S$0.20 per share to buy S$518k worth of the stock. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 1.9%.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Overseas Education

In fact, the recent purchase by Lok Hiong Wong was the biggest purchase of Overseas Education shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That implies that an insider found the current price of S$0.20 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Overseas Education share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Lok Hiong Wong was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Lok Hiong Wong bought a total of 4.70m shares over the year at an average price of S$0.20. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Overseas Education is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Overseas Education

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Overseas Education insiders own 69% of the company, currently worth about S$57m based on the recent share price. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Overseas Education Insiders?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Overseas Education insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. One for the watchlist, at least! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Overseas Education you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

Of course Overseas Education 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.

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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.