Over the past year, many EnerSys (NYSE:ENS) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

EnerSys Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, David Shaffer, sold US$7.5m worth of shares at a price of US$104 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$86.09). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 1.09k shares for US$90k. But they sold 157.54k shares for US$16m. All up, insiders sold more shares in EnerSys than they bought, over the last year. 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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

EnerSys Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that EnerSys insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. In total, insiders bought US$90k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

Does EnerSys Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From our data, it seems that EnerSys insiders own 0.2% of the company, worth about US$8.0m. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Do The EnerSys Insider Transactions Indicate?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. Neither the level of insider ownership, nor the transactions over the last twelve months inspire us, but we think the recent buying is positive. 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.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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.