Have Darling Ingredients Insiders Been Selling Stock?
We wouldn't blame Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Randall Stuewe, the Chairman & CEO recently netted about US$640k selling shares at an average price of US$64.03. However, that sale only accounted for 1.0% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Darling Ingredients
Notably, that recent sale by Chairman & CEO Randall Stuewe was not the only time they sold Darling Ingredients shares this year. Earlier in the year, they fetched US$31.17 per share in a -US$1.9m sale. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$67.04, 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 8.6% of Randall Stuewe's holding.
All up, insiders sold more shares in Darling Ingredients than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
See our latest analysis for Darling Ingredients
I will like Darling Ingredients better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of Darling Ingredients
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Darling Ingredients insiders own 1.3% of the company, currently worth about US$132m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Darling Ingredients Insiders?
Unfortunately, there has been more insider selling of Darling Ingredients stock, than buying, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Darling Ingredients is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Darling Ingredients you should be aware of, and 1 of these is significant.
Of course Darling Ingredients 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.