Over the past year, many Worthington Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:WOR) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Worthington Enterprises Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Lead Independent Director, Michael Endres, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.2m worth of shares at a price of US$64.26 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$41.09). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Worthington Enterprises than they bought, over the last year. 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!

I will like Worthington Enterprises 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.

Insiders At Worthington Enterprises Have Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Worthington Enterprises. We can see that President Joseph Hayek paid US$101k for shares in the company. No-one sold. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

Insider Ownership Of Worthington Enterprises

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Worthington Enterprises insiders own 38% of the company, currently worth about US$768m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Worthington Enterprises Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The recent buying by an insider , along with high insider ownership, suggest that Worthington Enterprises insiders are fairly aligned, and optimistic. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Worthington Enterprises.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.