Some SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the CEO of SSP Nordics & Spain and Group Director of Strategic Client Partnerships, Nick Inkster, recently sold a whopping UK£1.7m worth of stock at a price of UK£6.89 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the dump amounted to 95.2% of their entire holding.
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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At SSP Group
Notably, that recent sale by Nick Inkster is the biggest insider sale of SSP Group shares that we’ve seen in the last year. So it’s clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even slightly below the current price of UK£6.91. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don’t know for sure what they think of the stock price. It is worth noting that this sale was 95.2% of Nick Inkster’s holding.
We note that in the last year insiders divested 1.0m shares for a total of UK£7.0m. Insiders in SSP Group didn’t buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Insider Ownership
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it’s a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. SSP Group insiders own about UK£32m worth of shares. That equates to 1.1% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it’s enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About SSP Group Insiders?
An insider sold SSP Group shares recently, but they didn’t buy any. And even if we look to the last year, we didn’t see any purchases. On the plus side, SSP Group makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don’t own a heap, and they have been selling. 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.
But note: SSP 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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