Multiple insiders bought Emerald Resources NL (ASX:EMR) stock earlier this year, a positive sign for shareholders

When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Emerald Resources NL's (ASX:EMR) instance, it's good news for shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

See our latest analysis for Emerald Resources

Emerald Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Ryan Lee for AU$141k worth of shares, at about AU$0.78 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (AU$1.04), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Emerald Resources insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

insider-trading-volume

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 22% of Emerald Resources shares, worth about AU$118m. 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 Do The Emerald Resources Insider Transactions Indicate?

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. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, Emerald Resources insiders feel good about the company's future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Emerald Resources. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Emerald Resources you should be aware of, and 2 of these can't be ignored.

But note: Emerald Resources may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.

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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