Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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.

View our latest analysis for Portland General Electric

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Portland General Electric

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Vice President of Human Resources, Anne Mersereau, sold US$481k worth of shares at a price of US$44.16 per share. So we know that an insider sold shares at around the present share price of US$40.93. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Portland General Electric insiders didn't buy any shares 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 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.

Insiders At Portland General Electric Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Portland General Electric. Specifically, Vice President of Human Resources Anne Mersereau ditched US$531k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of Portland General Electric

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 0.5% of Portland General Electric shares, worth about US$22m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Portland General Electric Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought Portland General Electric stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Portland General Electric. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Portland General Electric (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

Of course Portland General Electric 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.

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.