Are Insiders Selling Samsonite International S.A. (HKG:1910) Stock?

It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Samsonite International S.A. (HKG:1910), 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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required.

We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. 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 Samsonite International

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Samsonite International

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Executive Director, Kyle Gendreau, sold HK$436k worth of shares at a price of HK$7.84 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of HK$11.20. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. This single sale was just 3.2% of Kyle Gendreau's stake. The only individual insider seller over the last year was Kyle Gendreau.

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!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership of Samsonite International

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Samsonite International insiders own about HK$715m worth of shares. That equates to 4.2% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The Samsonite International Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Samsonite International shares in the last quarter. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Samsonite International, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. 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. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Samsonite International.

But note: Samsonite International may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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, 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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