Investors who take an interest in Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) should definitely note that the Chairman, Peter Huntsman, recently paid US$16.11 per share to buy US$483k worth of the stock. However, it only increased shareholding by a small percentage, and it wasn't a huge purchase by absolute value, either.

Check out our latest analysis for Huntsman

Huntsman Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent purchase by Peter Huntsman is the biggest insider purchase of Huntsman shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$17.26 per share to be enticing. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 32.50k shares for US$534k. But they sold 20.20k shares for US$433k. Overall, Huntsman insiders were net buyers during 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!

Huntsman is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Huntsman 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. It's great to see that Huntsman insiders own 6.1% of the company, worth about US$183m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Huntsman 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. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Huntsman. That's what I like to see! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Huntsman. For example - Huntsman has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.