Yahoo Finance Should You Take Comfort From Insider Transactions At Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSE:ATH)?
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We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Athabasca Oil Corporation (TSE:ATH).
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 on the market. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. As Peter Lynch said, ‘insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.’
View our latest analysis for Athabasca Oil
Athabasca Oil Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Independent Director Thomas Ebbern made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for CA$108k worth of shares at a price of CA$1.08 each. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. It’s not at all bad to see insiders buy shares at or above current prices.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 142.30k shares for a total of CA$169k. Overall, Athabasca Oil insiders were net buyers last year. Their average price was about CA$1.19. I’d consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price, which is CA$0.93. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Athabasca Oil Insiders Bought Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we’ve seen significant insider buying at Athabasca Oil. Overall, 3 insiders shelled out CA$124k for shares in the company — and none sold. That shows some optimism about the company’s future.
Insider Ownership
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Based on our data, Athabasca Oil insiders have about 0.7% of the stock, worth approximately CA$3.5m. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.
So What Do The Athabasca Oil Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. However, we note that the company didn’t make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we’d like to see, the history of transactions imply that Athabasca Oil insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
