Insiders Could Have Profited By Holding onto Helia Group Shares Despite 21% Drop

Helia Group Limited's (ASX:HLI) value has fallen 21% in the last week, but insiders who sold AU$2.7m worth of stock over the last year have had less success. The average selling price of AU$5.85 is still lower than the current share price, or in other words, insiders would have been better off holding on to their shares.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Helia Group

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO, MD & Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston, sold AU$1.5m worth of shares at a price of AU$6.05 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is AU$4.31. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it. Pauline Blight-Johnston was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$88k for 20.00k shares. On the other hand they divested 460.15k shares, for AU$2.7m. Pauline Blight-Johnston divested 460.15k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of AU$5.85. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Helia Group

I will like Helia Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Helia Group

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Helia Group insiders own about AU$24m worth of shares. That equates to 2.0% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Helia Group Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no Helia Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Helia Group insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Helia Group. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is potentially serious!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Helia Group.

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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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.