BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI) 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 do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At BJ's Restaurants

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Senior Vice President of Brewing Operations, Alexander Puchner, sold US$262k worth of shares at a price of US$38.27 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$29.82). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

All up, insiders sold more shares in BJ's Restaurants than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$37.75. We are not joyful about insider selling. But we note that the selling, on average, was at well above the recently traded price of US$29.82. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does BJ's Restaurants Boast High Insider Ownership?

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that BJ's Restaurants insiders own 3.4% of the company, worth about US$24m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The BJ's Restaurants Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no BJ's Restaurants insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. Still, the insider transactions at BJ's Restaurants in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for BJ's Restaurants and we suggest you have a look.

But note: BJ's Restaurants 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.