Anyone interested in Liberty Energy Inc. (NYSE:LBRT) should probably be aware that the Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, R. Elliott, recently divested US$410k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$20.50 each. That sale was 19% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.
Liberty Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
The President, Ron Gusek, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.6m worth of shares at a price of US$20.70 each. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$20.79, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 6.8% of Ron Gusek's holding.
Insiders in Liberty Energy didn't buy any shares in the last year. 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!
If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Does Liberty Energy Boast High 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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Liberty Energy insiders own about US$109m worth of shares (which is 3.1% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Liberty Energy Tell Us?
An insider hasn't bought Liberty Energy 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. On the plus side, Liberty Energy makes money, and is growing profits. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Liberty Energy. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Liberty Energy (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.
Of course Liberty Energy 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.