Investors who take an interest in Western Copper and Gold Corporation (TSE:WRN) should definitely note that the Independent Director, Klaus Zeitler, recently paid CA$1.90 per share to buy CA$190k worth of the stock. That's a very solid buy in our book, and increased their holding by a noteworthy 45%.

View our latest analysis for Western Copper and Gold

Western Copper and Gold Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Singh for CA$3.0m worth of shares, at about CA$1.35 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of CA$2.00. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 2.36m shares for CA$3.3m. But they sold 77.64k shares for CA$164k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Western Copper and Gold insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. 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).

Does Western Copper and Gold Boast High 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. It appears that Western Copper and Gold insiders own 4.4% of the company, worth about CA$17m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Western Copper and Gold Insiders?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Western Copper and Gold insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Western Copper and Gold (2 are a bit unpleasant!) and we strongly recommend you look at them before investing.