Insiders At Greggs Sold UK£923k In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Many Greggs plc (LON:GRG) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. 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.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for Greggs

Greggs Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CFO & Executive Director, Richard Hutton, for UK£497k worth of shares, at about UK£27.58 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (UK£28.44). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 12% of Richard Hutton's holding.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 8.72k shares for UK£242k. On the other hand they divested 33.46k shares, for UK£923k. All up, insiders sold more shares in Greggs than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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).

Have Greggs Insiders Traded Recently?

CEO & Executive Director Roisin Currie bought just UK£1.7k worth of shares in that time. That's not much at all. Overall, we don't think these recent trades are particularly informative, one way or the other.

Insider Ownership Of Greggs

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.2% of Greggs shares, worth about UK£4.6m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Greggs Insiders?

Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by Greggs insiders. And we're not picking up on high enough insider ownership to give us any comfort. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Greggs. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with Greggs and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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