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 analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

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Howden Joinery Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The CEO & Executive Director, William Livingston, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£546k worth of shares at a price of UK£6.66 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of UK£8.39. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 13% of William Livingston's stake. Notably William Livingston was also the biggest buyer, having purchased UK£268k worth of shares.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£268k for 35.77k shares. But insiders sold 146.89k shares worth UK£978k. In total, Howden Joinery Group insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. 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!

See our latest analysis for Howden Joinery Group

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 0.1% of Howden Joinery Group shares, worth about UK£5.6m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Howden Joinery Group Tell Us?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Howden Joinery Group insiders. And usually insiders own more stock in the company, according to our data. 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. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Howden Joinery Group and we suggest you have a look.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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.