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 LHT Holdings Limited (SGX:BEI).
What Is Insider Buying?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.’
View our latest analysis for LHT Holdings
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At LHT Holdings
Chairman Mui Yap made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for S$182k worth of shares at a price of S$0.68 each. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being S$0.56). 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. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Mui Yap.
Mui Yap purchased 446k shares over the year. The average price per share was S$0.68. You can see the insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
Insider Ownership of LHT Holdings
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. LHT Holdings insiders own about S$21m worth of shares (which is 69% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
So What Do The LHT Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?
Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn’t worth writing home about. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Judging from their transactions, and high insider ownership, LHT Holdings insiders feel good about the company’s future. To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow .
Of course LHT Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.
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.