Have Origin Energy Insiders Been Selling Stock?
Some Origin Energy Limited (ASX:ORG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the MD, CEO & Executive Director, Frank Calabria, recently sold a substantial AU$1.8m worth of stock at a price of AU$11.98 per share. However, it's crucial to note that they remain very much invested in the stock and that sale only reduced their holding by 9.1%.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Origin Energy
Notably, that recent sale by MD, CEO & Executive Director Frank Calabria was not the only time they sold Origin Energy shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched AU$12.03 per share in a -AU$6.3m sale. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of AU$12.18. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 24% of Frank Calabria's stake.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 25.63k shares worth AU$309k. But insiders sold 961.50k shares worth AU$12m. Frank Calabria sold a total of 961.50k shares over the year at an average price of AU$11.98. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and 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!
See our latest analysis for Origin Energy
I will like Origin Energy better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of Origin Energy
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Origin Energy insiders own about AU$43m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% of the company. 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 Origin Energy Insiders?
The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Origin Energy, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Origin Energy is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Origin Energy you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.
Of course Origin Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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