Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Westrock Coffee Company (NASDAQ:WEST) over the past 12 months. An insider's optimism about the company's prospects is a positive sign.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Westrock Coffee

The Independent Director R. Kruczek made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.0m worth of shares at a price of US$7.01 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$6.30. 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. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 517.13k shares for US$3.7m. But insiders sold 28.72k shares worth US$221k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Westrock Coffee insiders. 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Westrock Coffee

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.

Westrock Coffee Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Westrock Coffee. Specifically, Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board Joe Ford bought US$969k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

Insider Ownership Of Westrock Coffee

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Westrock Coffee insiders own 16% of the company, currently worth about US$100m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Westrock Coffee Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. However, we note that the company didn't make a profit over the last twelve months, which makes us cautious. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Westrock Coffee. One for the watchlist, at least! 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. While conducting our analysis, we found that Westrock Coffee has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

Of course Westrock Coffee 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.