We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX:BN4).

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

Check out our latest analysis for Keppel

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Keppel

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Independent Chairman Boon Yang Lee for S$222k worth of shares, at about S$6.92 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being S$6.77). 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. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 92.00k shares for S$637k. But insiders sold 5000 shares worth S$34k. Overall, Keppel insiders were net buyers last year. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Keppel Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We have seen a bit of insider selling at Keppel, over the last three months. insider Siew Lim sold just S$34k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the volume sold is so low that it really doesn't bother us.