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Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LON:GKP). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic about the company's prospects.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
Check out our latest analysis for Gulf Keystone Petroleum
Gulf Keystone Petroleum Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Ian Weatherdon bought UK£849k worth of shares at a price of UK£1.35 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£1.34). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. Notably Ian Weatherdon was also the biggest seller.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 678.94k shares worth UK£906k. But insiders sold 628.94k shares worth UK£849k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Gulf Keystone Petroleum insiders. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
Gulf Keystone Petroleum 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.
Insiders At Gulf Keystone Petroleum Have Bought Stock Recently
It's good to see that Gulf Keystone Petroleum insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Specifically, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director Julien Olivier Balkany bought UK£57k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future.
Insider Ownership Of Gulf Keystone Petroleum
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Gulf Keystone Petroleum insiders own 12% of the company, worth about UK£35m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.