From what we can see, insiders were net sellers in PENN Entertainment, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PENN ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders sold the stock in greater numbers than they purchased it.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

PENN Entertainment Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Lead Director, Barbara Z. Kohn, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$810k worth of shares at a price of US$26.62 each. 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$16.93). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Barbara Z. Kohn was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$804k for 35.56k shares. But insiders sold 30.45k shares worth US$810k. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. PENN Entertainment insiders own about US$26m worth of shares. That equates to 1.0% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The PENN Entertainment Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no PENN Entertainment insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by PENN Entertainment insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. 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. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for PENN Entertainment that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course PENN Entertainment 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.