Pleasing Signs As A Number Of Insiders Buy Hargreaves Services Stock
When a single insider purchases stock, it is typically not a major deal. However, when multiple insiders purchase stock, like in Hargreaves Services Plc's (LON:HSP) instance, it's good news for shareholders.
While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
View our latest analysis for Hargreaves Services
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hargreaves Services
The Group Property Director & Director David Anderson made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£71k worth of shares at a price of UK£4.66 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of UK£4.52. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. We note that David Anderson was both the biggest buyer and the biggest seller.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£110k for 25.33k shares. But insiders sold 15.33k shares worth UK£71k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Hargreaves Services insiders. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insider Ownership Of Hargreaves Services
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. It appears that Hargreaves Services insiders own 10% of the company, worth about UK£15m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Hargreaves Services Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders do have a stake in Hargreaves Services and their transactions don't cause us concern. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Hargreaves Services. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Hargreaves Services.
But note: Hargreaves Services 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 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.
