Insiders Of Helia Group Make A Tidy Sum Selling At AU$4.29

While Helia Group Limited (ASX:HLI) shareholders have had a good week with the stock up 14%, insiders can't say the same having sold stock over the past year. They could have sold their shares at much higher prices and gotten a better return on their investment if they had waited.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

View our latest analysis for Helia Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Helia Group

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO, MD & Director, Pauline Blight-Johnston, for AU$298k worth of shares, at about AU$4.32 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of AU$5.67, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 only 30% of Pauline Blight-Johnston's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid AU$78k for 21.07k shares. But insiders sold 76.09k shares worth AU$326k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Helia Group shares, than buying. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Insider Ownership Of Helia Group

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Helia Group insiders own 1.4% of the company, worth about AU$22m. 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 Helia Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Helia Group shares in the last quarter. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Helia Group insiders. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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. Our analysis shows 2 warning signs for Helia Group (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

Of course Helia Group 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 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.