Looking at American Woodmark Corporation's (NASDAQ:AMWD ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net sellers. That is, there were more number of shares sold by insiders than there were purchased.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At American Woodmark
The Independent Director, James Davis, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$374k worth of shares at a price of US$84.33 each. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$51.95. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. James Davis was the only individual insider to sell over the last year.
James Davis ditched 5.75k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$82.53. 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!
See our latest analysis for American Woodmark
I will like American Woodmark better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. American Woodmark insiders own about US$13m worth of shares. That equates to 1.6% of the company. 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 American Woodmark Tell Us?
It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded American Woodmark shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at American Woodmark in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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 American Woodmark has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore it.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
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.