Norbord Inc. (TSE:OSB) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Lead Director, Paul Houston, recently bought a whopping CA$2.2m worth of stock, at a price of CA$42.27. That purchase boosted their holding by 122%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

Check out our latest analysis for Norbord

Norbord Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In fact, the recent purchase by Paul Houston was the biggest purchase of Norbord shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$38.14). It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Paul Houston. We note that Paul Houston was also the biggest seller.

Paul Houston bought 66.52k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of CA$39.55. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does Norbord 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. Our data indicates that Norbord insiders own about CA$6.8m worth of shares (which is 0.2% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Norbord Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Norbord insiders are expecting a bright future. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Norbord.

But note: Norbord 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, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.