We'd be surprised if New Jersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR) shareholders haven't noticed that the Independent Director, Jane Kenny, recently sold US$449k worth of stock at US$56.10 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 27% in their holding.

New Jersey Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Jane Kenny is the biggest insider sale of New Jersey Resources shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$56.96). 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 27% of Jane Kenny's holding.

In the last year New Jersey Resources insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like New Jersey Resources better if I see some big insider buys.

Does New Jersey Resources 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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that New Jersey Resources insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$33m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

What Might The Insider Transactions At New Jersey Resources Tell Us?

An insider hasn't bought New Jersey Resources stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We're in no rush to buy! So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.

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.