Some of the losses seen by insiders who purchased US$1.46m worth of The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAIN) shares over the past year were recovered after the stock increased by 15% over the past week. However, total losses seen by insiders are still US$323k since the time of purchase.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Hain Celestial Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Independent Director Michael Sims made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$373k worth of shares at a price of US$1.61 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$1.28. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months Hain Celestial Group insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Does Hain Celestial Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. From looking at our data, insiders own US$2.6m worth of Hain Celestial Group stock, about 2.3% of the company. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

So What Do The Hain Celestial Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more Hain Celestial Group stock. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Hain Celestial Group.

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.