We'd be surprised if Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) shareholders haven't noticed that the Executive VP & CFO, Mark Spurbeck, recently sold US$295k worth of stock at US$29.52 per share. That sale was 20% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Peabody Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & COO, Darren Yeates, sold US$815k worth of shares at a price of US$25.48 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$28.23). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was 52% of Darren Yeates's holding.

Insiders in Peabody Energy didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Insider Ownership Of Peabody Energy

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company 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 Peabody Energy insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about US$13m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Peabody Energy Tell Us?

An insider sold Peabody Energy shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Peabody Energy (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

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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.