Insiders who acquired US$2.6m worth of Nickel Industries Limited's (ASX:NIC) stock at an average price of US$1.23 in the past 12 months may be dismayed by the recent 6.6% price decline. Insiders invest with the hopes of seeing their money grow in value over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth US$2.1m, which is not what they expected.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Nickel Industries

Nickel Industries Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Non-Executive Director Weifeng Huang for AU$895k worth of shares, at about AU$1.33 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.99). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. 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.

While Nickel Industries insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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).

Insider Ownership

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's great to see that Nickel Industries insiders own 8.4% of the company, worth about AU$227m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Nickel Industries Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Nickel Industries insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Nickel Industries insiders think the business has merit. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Nickel Industries. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Nickel Industries you should be aware of.