We wouldn't blame NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Donald Brown, the Executive VP & Chief Innovation Officer recently netted about US$1.0m selling shares at an average price of US$26.78. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 18%, which is notable but not too bad.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At NiSource

The President Lloyd Yates made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.1m worth of shares at a price of US$26.44 each. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$26.82 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the NiSource insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Lloyd Yates was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

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

I will like NiSource better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Does NiSource Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.3% of NiSource shares, worth about US$42m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The NiSource Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought NiSource stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing NiSource. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with NiSource (including 1 which is potentially serious).

Of course NiSource 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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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.