Yahoo Finance Have Insiders Been Selling Entertainment One Ltd. (LON:ETO) Shares?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. 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 Entertainment One Ltd. (LON:ETO).
Do Insider Transactions Matter?
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 would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. 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.’
View our latest analysis for Entertainment One
Entertainment One Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by CEO, President & Director Darren Throop for UK£5.8m worth of shares, at about UK£3.86 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of UK£4.21, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. Even though it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, that’s certainly not a positive sign, in our book. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling on market, especially if they did so below the current price. Please note, however, that this single sale was just 17.3% of Darren Throop’s stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Darren Throop.
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!
For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Insider Ownership
Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 1.6% of Entertainment One shares, worth about UK£31m. We’ve certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The Entertainment One Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider sold stock recently, but they haven’t been buying. And there weren’t any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. On the plus side, Entertainment One makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we’re still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we’d only buy after careful consideration. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
If you would prefer to check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
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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.
