Had insiders known Walker Crips Group plc (LON:WCW) would hit UK£14m they might have invested more last year

Last week, Walker Crips Group plc (LON:WCW) insiders, who had purchased shares in the previous 12 months were rewarded handsomely. The shares increased by 10% last week, resulting in a UK£1.3m increase in the company's market worth. As a result, their original purchase of UK£83k worth of stock is now worth UK£105k.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Walker Crips Group

Walker Crips Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Non-Executive Director Hua Lim bought UK£56k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.26 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK£0.33), we still think insider buying is a positive. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

Hua Lim purchased 322.01k shares over the year. The average price per share was UK£0.26. 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!

Walker Crips Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 31% of Walker Crips Group shares, worth about UK£4.3m. 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 Do The Walker Crips Group Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Walker Crips Group shares in the last quarter. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Walker Crips Group insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Walker Crips Group (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

But note: Walker Crips Group may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.

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.

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