Epsilon Energy Ltd. (NASDAQ:EPSN) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the President, Jason Stabell, recently bought a whopping US$1.2m worth of stock, at a price of US$4.82. That purchase boosted their holding by 161%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Epsilon Energy

In fact, the recent purchase by Jason Stabell was the biggest purchase of Epsilon Energy shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$4.90. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. Happily, the Epsilon Energy insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Jason Stabell was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Jason Stabell purchased 336.03k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$4.92. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Epsilon Energy is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From looking at our data, insiders own US$2.3m worth of Epsilon Energy stock, about 2.2% of the company. We prefer to see high levels of insider ownership.

So What Do The Epsilon Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Epsilon Energy insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. 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. For example - Epsilon Energy has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But note: Epsilon Energy 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.

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.