We note that the Nathan's Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH) Independent Director, Brian Genson, recently sold US$99k worth of stock for US$68.23 per share. It might not be a huge sale, but it did reduce their holding size 13%, hardly encouraging.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Nathan's Famous

In fact, the recent sale by Independent Director Brian Genson was not their only sale of Nathan's Famous shares this year. They previously made an even bigger sale of -US$146k worth of shares at a price of US$73.50 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$69.21. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

Brian Genson divested 5.50k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of US$69.79. 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!

I will like Nathan's Famous 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 Nathan's Famous Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Nathan's Famous insiders own 31% of the company, worth about US$88m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Nathan's Famous Insiders?

An insider sold Nathan's Famous shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Nathan's Famous is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Nathan's Famous has 4 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.

But note: Nathan's Famous 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.