It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Limited (ASX:KPT), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.
View our latest analysis for Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers
Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Non-Executive Director John Sergeant bought AU$250k worth of shares at a price of AU$2.00 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$1.19 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.
Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Does Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Boast High 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. Our data indicates that Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers insiders own about AU$9.1m worth of shares (which is 14% of the company). Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.