It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. 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 before you buy or sell Saga Tankers ASA (OB:SAGA), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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 Saga Tankers

Saga Tankers Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Espen Lundaas is the biggest insider purchase of Saga Tankers shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of kr0.98. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Saga Tankers insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 2.5m shares for a total of kr2.4m. While Saga Tankers insiders bought shares last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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 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).

Insiders at Saga Tankers Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Saga Tankers. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought kr1.9m worth of shares. This makes one think the business has some good points.