Some Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Financial Officer of Golden Ocean Management AS, Peder Carl Simonsen, recently sold a substantial US$2.5m worth of stock at a price of US$12.62 per share. That diminished their holding by a very significant 100%, which arguably implies a strong desire to reallocate capital.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Golden Ocean Group
Notably, that recent sale by Peder Carl Simonsen is the biggest insider sale of Golden Ocean Group shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of US$12.78, 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. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was 100% of Peder Carl Simonsen's holding.
You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
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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. Our information indicates that Golden Ocean Group insiders own about US$222k worth of shares. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. We might be missing something but that seems like very low insider ownership.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Golden Ocean Group Insiders?
An insider sold Golden Ocean Group shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. So we'd only buy after very careful consideration. 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. When we did our research, we found 4 warning signs for Golden Ocean Group (2 can't be ignored!) that we believe deserve your full attention.
But note: Golden Ocean Group 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 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.