Viewing insider transactions for St Barbara Limited's (ASX:SBM ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net buyers. This means that a larger number of shares were purchased by insiders in relation to shares sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for St Barbara

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At St Barbara

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by MD, CEO & Director Andrew Strelein for AU$94k worth of shares, at about AU$0.19 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being AU$0.16). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Andrew Strelein was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!

St Barbara is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. Our data suggests St Barbara insiders own 3.2% of the company, worth about AU$4.2m. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At St Barbara Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no St Barbara insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think St Barbara insiders are doubting the company. 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. For example - St Barbara has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.