Possible Bearish Signals With Howden Joinery Group Insiders Disposing Stock

In the last year, many Howden Joinery Group Plc (LON:HWDN) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Howden Joinery Group

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chair of International, Andy Witts, for UK£1.8m worth of shares, at about UK£9.15 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is UK£7.16. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£268k for 35.77k shares. But they sold 350.00k shares for UK£3.2m. In total, Howden Joinery Group insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!

Check out our latest analysis for Howden Joinery Group

I will like Howden Joinery 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.

Insiders At Howden Joinery Group Have Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Howden Joinery Group insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Overall, three insiders shelled out UK£268k for shares in the company -- and none sold. This makes one think the business has some good points.

Insider Ownership Of Howden Joinery 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. Howden Joinery Group insiders own about UK£8.1m worth of shares. That equates to 0.2% 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 Do The Howden Joinery Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. On the other hand the transaction history, over the last year, isn't so positive. Neither the level of insider ownership, nor the transactions over the last twelve months inspire us, but we think the recent buying is positive. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Howden Joinery Group and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.