S4 Capital's Insiders' Timely Sale May Have Helped Mitigate 12% Dip in Share Price

Insiders seem to have made the most of their holdings by selling UK£736k worth of S4 Capital plc (LON:SFOR) stock at an average sell price of UK£0.52 during the past year. The company’s market cap plunged by UK£45m after price dropped by 12% last week but insiders were able to limit their loss to an extent.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for S4 Capital

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At S4 Capital

The insider, Brady Brim-DeForest, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£736k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.52 each. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of UK£0.57, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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. 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. It is worth noting that this sale was only 26% of Brady Brim-DeForest's holding. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Brady Brim-DeForest.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, 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: Most of them are flying under the radar).

S4 Capital Insiders Bought Stock Recently

There was some insider buying at S4 Capital over the last quarter. Chief Growth Officer Scott Spirit purchased UK£25k worth of shares in that period. It's good to see the insider buying, as well as the lack of recent sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does S4 Capital Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. It appears that S4 Capital insiders own 21% of the company, worth about UK£72m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At S4 Capital Tell Us?

We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. Still, the insider transactions at S4 Capital in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in 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. For example - S4 Capital has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.