John Walsh Is The President of UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) And They Just Picked Up 1.8% More Shares
Investors who take an interest in UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) should definitely note that the President, John Walsh, recently paid US$30.45 per share to buy US$244k worth of the stock. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 1.8%.
View our latest analysis for UGI
UGI Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Chairman Frank Hermance for US$6.4m worth of shares, at about US$43.06 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being US$28.53). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
In the last twelve months UGI insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
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. 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 UGI insiders own 0.8% of the company, worth about US$46m. 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 UGI Tell Us?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of UGI we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for UGI (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.
But note: UGI 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, but not derivative transactions.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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