In the last year, multiple insiders have substantially increased their holdings of Centurion Corporation Limited (SGX:OU8) stock, indicating that insiders' optimism about the company's prospects has increased.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Centurion Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive Joint Chairman of the Board Kim Kang Loh made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for S$11m worth of shares at a price of S$0.54 each. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (S$1.08), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Centurion insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. Their average price was about S$0.63. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, you should keep in mind that they bought when the share price was meaningfully below today's levels. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Centurion 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.

Centurion Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last quarter, Centurion insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. In total, insiders bought S$5.5m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Centurion insiders own 23% of the company, currently worth about S$209m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Centurion Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Centurion. Looks promising! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Centurion. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Centurion (1 is a bit concerning!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

But note: Centurion 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.