Insider Sellers Might Regret Selling S4 Capital Shares at a Lower Price Than Current Market Value

S4 Capital plc's (LON:SFOR) stock price has dropped 13% in the previous week, but insiders who sold UK£2.8m in stock over the past year have had less luck. Insiders might have been better off holding onto their shares, given that the average selling price of UK£1.34 is still below the current share price.

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

See our latest analysis for S4 Capital

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At S4 Capital

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive Director, Christopher Martin, sold UK£2.8m worth of shares at a price of UK£1.34 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of UK£0.49. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Christopher Martin.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like S4 Capital better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that S4 Capital insiders own 16% of the company, worth about UK£46m. 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 S4 Capital Insiders?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by S4 Capital insiders. But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing S4 Capital. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 1 warning sign with S4 Capital and understanding this should be part of your investment process.

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 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.