Anyone interested in The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) should probably be aware that the Senior VP & Chief Operations Officer of The Americas, William Krueger, recently divested US$300k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$50.00 each. However, the silver lining is that the sale only reduced their total holding by 9.2%, so we're hesitant to read anything much into it, on its own.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Greenbrier Companies

In fact, the recent sale by William Krueger was the biggest sale of Greenbrier Companies shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$52.41. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 9.2% of William Krueger's stake.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Greenbrier Companies than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Does Greenbrier Companies 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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Greenbrier Companies insiders own 2.7% of the company, worth about US$42m. 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 Greenbrier Companies Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider sold Greenbrier Companies shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Greenbrier Companies makes money, and is growing profits. 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. Be aware that Greenbrier Companies is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored...

Of course Greenbrier Companies 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.

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.