Yahoo Finance Have Insiders Been Buying Inchcape plc (LON:INCH) Shares?
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Inchcape plc (LON:INCH).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that ‘insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers’.
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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Inchcape
Chairman of the Board Nigel Stein made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£202k worth of shares at a price of UK£7.61 each. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even above the current price.
Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 30.70k shares worth UK£230k. But they sold 22.24k for UK£166k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Inchcape insiders. Their average price was about UK£7.49. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price of UK£5.81 attractive. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by 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!
Inchcape is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Are Inchcape Insiders Buying Or Selling?
Over the last three months, we’ve seen a bit of insider buying at Inchcape. Insiders bought UK£6.7k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own.
Insider Ownership
I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Inchcape insiders own about UK£43m worth of shares. That equates to 1.9% of the company. 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 Do The Inchcape Insider Transactions Indicate?
Insider purchases have outweighed sales, in the last three months. But the net investment is not enough to encourage us much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don’t see anything to make us think Inchcape insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Inchcape.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
