Who Has Been Selling Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. (LON:YNGA) Shares?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. (LON:YNGA).

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise'.

View our latest analysis for Young's Brewery

Young's Brewery Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Chief Executive & Executive Director, Patrick Dardis, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£117k worth of shares at a price of UK£11.10 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (UK£12.50). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 9.2% of Patrick Dardis's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£50k for 4.88k shares. On the other hand they divested 11.85k shares, for UK£132k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Young's Brewery 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!

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

Young's Brewery Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Young's Brewery insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought UK£50k worth of shares. This is a positive in our book as it implies some confidence.

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 4.3% of Young's Brewery shares, worth about UK£27m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Young's Brewery Insiders?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. Our analysis of Young's Brewery insider transactions leaves us cautious. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Young's Brewery.

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, 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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