We'd be surprised if Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) shareholders haven't noticed that the General Counsel, David Sigmon, recently sold US$130k worth of stock at US$17.33 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 19% in their holding.

Greenlight Capital Re Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Director Greg Richardson for US$637k worth of shares, at about US$12.92 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of US$17.52. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 55.00k shares for US$702k. On the other hand they divested 52.84k shares, for US$741k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Greenlight Capital Re shares, than buying. 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!

I will like Greenlight Capital Re better if I see some big insider buys.

Does Greenlight Capital Re Boast High Insider Ownership?

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Greenlight Capital Re insiders own about US$61m worth of shares. That equates to 11% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Greenlight Capital Re Insiders?

An insider sold Greenlight Capital Re shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Greenlight Capital Re makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

But note: Greenlight Capital Re may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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.