We wouldn't blame Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Edward Lampert, a company insider, recently netted about US$2.9m selling shares at an average price of US$9.21. However, that sale only accounted for 2.2% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

Check out our latest analysis for Seritage Growth Properties

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Seritage Growth Properties

In fact, the recent sale by insider Edward Lampert was not their only sale of Seritage Growth Properties shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$5.1m worth of shares at a price of US$12.60 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$9.14. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Edward Lampert ditched 1.25m shares over the year. The average price per share was US$10.90. 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!

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

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. Seritage Growth Properties insiders own 33% of the company, currently worth about US$170m 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.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Seritage Growth Properties Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. 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 help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 can't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Seritage Growth Properties.

But note: Seritage Growth Properties 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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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.