Anyone interested in Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (NASDAQ:PLYA) should probably be aware that the Independent Non-Executive Director, Karl Peterson, recently divested US$499k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$8.31 each. On the bright side, that sale was only 2.3% of their holding, so we doubt it's very meaningful, on its own.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Karl Peterson is the biggest insider sale of Playa Hotels & Resorts shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of US$8.39. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 2.3% of Karl Peterson's holding.

In the last year Playa Hotels & Resorts insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Playa Hotels & Resorts insiders own 8.7% of the company, worth about US$98m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Playa Hotels & Resorts Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Playa Hotels & Resorts stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Playa Hotels & Resorts makes money, and is growing profits. 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 these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. While conducting our analysis, we found that Playa Hotels & Resorts has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

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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.

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