We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in First Sponsor Group Limited (SGX:ADN).
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.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. 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’.
Check out our latest analysis for First Sponsor Group
First Sponsor Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Non-Executive Chairman Han Ho bought S$256k worth of shares at a price of S$1.28 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than S$1.15 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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.
First Sponsor Group insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn’t sell any. 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!
First Sponsor Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
First Sponsor Group Insiders Bought Stock Recently
Over the last quarter, First Sponsor Group insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought S$215k worth of shares. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.
Insider Ownership of First Sponsor Group
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 3.9% of First Sponsor Group shares, worth about S$36m. 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 First Sponsor Group Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of First Sponsor Group we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. So while it’s helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it’s also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that First Sponsor Group has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
But note: First Sponsor Group 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, but not derivative transactions.
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