Quite a few insiders have dramatically grown their holdings in Clean Seas Seafood Limited (ASX:CSS) 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Clean Seas Seafood

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Clean Seas Seafood

The insider Anthony Hall made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for AU$4.3m worth of shares at a price of AU$0.27 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.21 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

Clean Seas Seafood insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and 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. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Clean Seas Seafood Insiders Bought Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider buying at Clean Seas Seafood. Specifically, insider Anthony Hall bought AU$4.0m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any sales whatsoever. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Clean Seas Seafood insiders own about AU$9.9m worth of shares. That equates to 23% 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 Do The Clean Seas Seafood Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. Insiders likely see value in Clean Seas Seafood shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Clean Seas Seafood you should know about.