Over the past year, many Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. 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, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Independent Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Bahram Akradi, for US$4.6m worth of shares, at about US$41.93 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$35.10). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last year Northern Oil and Gas insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and 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!

I will like Northern Oil and Gas better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Northern Oil and Gas Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Northern Oil and Gas shares. In total, Independent Chairperson of the Board of Directors Bahram Akradi sold US$454k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Insider Ownership Of Northern Oil and Gas

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 2.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares, worth about US$96m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Northern Oil and Gas Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought Northern Oil and Gas stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. We'd practice some caution before buying! While we like knowing 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 5 warning signs for Northern Oil and Gas (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

Of course Northern Oil and Gas 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 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.