Insiders In International Housewares Retail Still Down 26% On HK$4.33m Investment

Some of the losses seen by insiders who purchased HK$4.33m worth of International Housewares Retail Company Limited (HKG:1373) shares over the past year were recovered after the stock increased by 11% over the past week. However, the purchase is proving to be a costly gamble, since losses made by insiders have totalled HK$1.1m since the time of purchase.

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 International Housewares Retail

International Housewares Retail Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Co-Founder & Honorary Chairman Pak Fai Lau bought HK$529k worth of shares at a price of HK$1.32 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being HK$1.05). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months International Housewares Retail insiders were buying shares, but not selling. 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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Does International Housewares Retail Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that International Housewares Retail insiders own 15% of the company, worth about HK$116m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At International Housewares Retail Tell Us?

The fact that there have been no International Housewares Retail insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. 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 International Housewares Retail insiders think the business has merit. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for International Housewares Retail you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

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.