Don't Ignore The Fact That This Insider Just Sold Some Shares In Hays plc (LON:HAS)

We'd be surprised if Hays plc (LON:HAS) shareholders haven't noticed that an insider, John Faraguna, recently sold UK£156k worth of stock at UK£1.56 per share. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 22% in their holding.

See our latest analysis for Hays

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hays

Notably, that recent sale by John Faraguna is the biggest insider sale of Hays shares that we've seen in the last year. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of UK£1.53. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Over the last year, we can see that insiders have bought 246.26k shares worth UK£236k. But they sold 100.00k shares for UK£156k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by Hays insiders. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Hays

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Hays insiders own about UK£9.8m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% 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 Does This Data Suggest About Hays Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Hays stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. In contrast, they appear keener if you look at the last twelve months. But insiders own relatively little of the company, from what we can see. So we can't be sure that insiders are optimistic. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Hays 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, but not derivative transactions.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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