Phoenix Group Holdings plc (LON:PHNX) Insiders Increased Their Holdings

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 before you buy or sell Phoenix Group Holdings plc (LON:PHNX), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

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.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year'.

View our latest analysis for Phoenix Group Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Phoenix Group Holdings

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the insider, James McConville, for UK£861k worth of shares, at about UK£6.28 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (UK£7.10). We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was 55% of James McConville's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was James McConville.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 143.16k shares for UK£906k. On the other hand they divested 140.00k shares, for UK£861k. In total, Phoenix Group Holdings insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. They paid about UK£6.33 on average. It's great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company's stock, albeit at below the recent share price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Phoenix Group Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at Phoenix Group Holdings over the last quarter. Independent Non-Executive Director Kory Sorenson bought UK£11k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But the amount invested in the last three months isn't enough for us too put much weight on it, as a single factor.

Insider Ownership of Phoenix Group Holdings

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.05% of Phoenix Group Holdings shares, worth about UK£3.8m, according to our data. Whilst better than nothing, we're not overly impressed by these holdings.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Phoenix Group Holdings Tell Us?

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. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. We'd like to see bigger individual holdings. However, we don't see anything to make us think Phoenix Group Holdings insiders are doubting the company. 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 4 warning signs for Phoenix Group Holdings (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.

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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