Aukett Swanke Group Gains 11%, Insider Trades Reap Benefit

Last week, Aukett Swanke Group Plc (LON:AUK) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 11% last week, resulting in a UK£504k increase in the company's market worth, implying a 52% gain on their initial purchase. As a result, their original purchase of UK£150.0k worth of stock is now worth UK£228.8k.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Aukett Swanke Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Aukett Swanke Group

The Group Finance Director Antony Barkwith made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£50k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.01 each. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of UK£0.015. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

While Aukett Swanke Group insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Aukett Swanke Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Aukett Swanke Group insiders own 51% of the company, worth about UK£2.5m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Aukett Swanke Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Aukett Swanke Group insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Be aware that Aukett Swanke Group is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those are potentially serious...

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.

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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.

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