How Much Are Hill & Smith Holdings PLC (LON:HILS) Insiders Taking Off The Table?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Hill & Smith Holdings PLC (LON:HILS), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
See our latest analysis for Hill & Smith Holdings
Hill & Smith Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the insider, Mark Pegler, sold UK£156k worth of shares at a price of UK£11.71 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of UK£11.70. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern. Mark Pegler was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.
Mark Pegler sold a total of 17538 shares over the year at an average price of UK£11.93. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
I will like Hill & Smith Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership of Hill & Smith Holdings
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.5% of Hill & Smith Holdings shares, worth about UK£4.6m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.
So What Do The Hill & Smith Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?
The fact that there have been no Hill & Smith Holdings insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Hill & Smith Holdings insiders. And we're not picking up on high enough insider ownership to give us any comfort. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Hill & Smith Holdings, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
Of course Hill & Smith Holdings 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, but not derivative transactions.
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.
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. Thank you for reading.
