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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR).
What Is Insider Buying?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. 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. As Peter Lynch said, ‘insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.’
View our latest analysis for EPR Properties
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At EPR Properties
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP, Mark Peterson, sold US$506k worth of shares at a price of US$69.75 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$75.17). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it’s only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 4.9% of Mark Peterson’s holding.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 7859 shares for US$226k. On the other hand they divested 56401 shares, for US$2.3m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of EPR Properties shares, than buying. The average sell price was around US$41.20. It’s not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares at below recent prices. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn’t put too much weight on it. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
EPR Properties Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of EPR Properties shares. In total, insiders dumped US$852k worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.
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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 1.3% of EPR Properties shares, worth about US$76m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At EPR Properties Tell Us?
Insiders sold EPR Properties shares recently, but they didn’t buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn’t give us much comfort. But it is good to see that EPR Properties is growing earnings. While insiders do own shares, they don’t own a heap, and they have been selling. We’re in no rush to buy! Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for EPR Properties.
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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.
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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.