We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in ECSC Group plc (LON:ECSC).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that ‘insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.’
View our latest analysis for ECSC Group
ECSC Group Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Non-Executive Director Elizabeth Gooch bought UK£61k worth of shares at a price of UK£1.23 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher, an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company’s future. That purchase may suggest an expectation of positive returns over the long term.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£107k for 104.20k shares. But insiders sold 50.00k shares worth UK£61k. Overall, ECSC Group insiders were net buyers last year. The average buy price was around UK£1.03. I’d consider this a positive as it suggests insiders see value at around the current price, which is UK£0.68. 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!
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
ECSC Group Insiders Bought Stock Recently
There was some insider buying at ECSC Group over the last quarter. Insiders 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. 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 ECSC Group
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. ECSC Group insiders own about UK£3.0m worth of shares (which is 49% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At ECSC Group Tell Us?
We note a that there has been a tad more insider buying than selling, recently. But the net investment is not enough to encourage us much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like ECSC Group insiders think the business has merit. 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 ECSC Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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.