The President of TransAlta Corporation (TSE:TA), Dawn Farrell, Just Bought 28% More Shares
Those following along with TransAlta Corporation (TSE:TA) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Dawn Farrell, President of the company, who spent a stonking CA$1.3m on stock at an average price of CA$10.71. Aside from being a solid chunk in its own right, the deft move also saw their holding increase by some 28%.
See our latest analysis for TransAlta
TransAlta Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Dawn Farrell was the biggest purchase of TransAlta shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of CA$11.19. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the TransAlta insiders decided to buy shares at close to current prices.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 329.80k shares worth CA$3.5m. But insiders sold 137.32k shares worth CA$1.3m. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by TransAlta insiders. 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!
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
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that TransAlta insiders own 0.5% of the company, worth about CA$14m. 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 TransAlta Insider Transactions Indicate?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest TransAlta insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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 TransAlta and we suggest you have a look.
Of course TransAlta may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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, but not derivative transactions.
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. 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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