As Alumina Limited (ASX:AWC) hits AU$4.7b market cap, insiders may be dismayed about not purchasing higher quantities

Last week, Alumina Limited (ASX:AWC) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 3.8% last week, resulting in a AU$174m increase in the company's market worth. Put another way, the original US$95k acquisition is now worth US$98k.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Alumina

Alumina Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Non-Executive Director Shirley In’t Veld made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$77k worth of shares at a price of AU$1.53 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of AU$1.64. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Alumina insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.

While Alumina insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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insider-trading-volume

Alumina 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.

Does Alumina Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Alumina insiders own about AU$22m worth of shares. That equates to 0.5% 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 Alumina Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in Alumina and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Alumina (1 doesn't sit too well with us) you should be aware of.

Of course Alumina 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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