We’ve lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. 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 we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Pets at Home Group Plc (LON:PETS).
What Is Insider Selling?
It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.
We don’t think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. 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 at Home Group
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At at Home Group
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Group CEO Peter Pritchard bought UK£348k worth of shares at a price of UK£1.31 per share. So it’s clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even above the current price.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 697.24k shares for UK£913k. But they sold 2.01k for UK£3.4k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by at Home Group insiders. The average buy price was around UK£1.31. I’d consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price, which is UK£1.16. You can see the insider transactions over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
I will like at Home Group 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 of at Home Group
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. at Home Group insiders own about UK£13m worth of shares (which is 2.2% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About at Home Group Insiders?
There haven’t been any insider transactions in the last three months — that doesn’t mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don’t see anything to make us think at Home Group insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.