Some Origin Energy Limited (ASX:ORG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the MD, CEO & Executive Director, Frank Calabria, recently sold a substantial AU$6.3m worth of stock at a price of AU$12.03 per share. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 24%, which is notable but not too bad.
Origin Energy Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent sale by Frank Calabria was the biggest sale of Origin Energy shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of AU$11.71. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 25.63k shares for AU$309k. On the other hand they divested 1.03m shares, for AU$12m. Frank Calabria sold a total of 1.03m shares over the year at an average price of AU$12.06. 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!
Check out our latest analysis for Origin Energy
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Insider Ownership Of Origin Energy
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Origin Energy insiders own about AU$46m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% 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 Origin Energy Insider Transactions Indicate?
The stark truth for Origin Energy is that there has been more insider selling than insider buying in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Origin Energy is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Origin Energy. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Origin Energy.
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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.