Have Consumer Portfolio Services Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We note that the Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS) Senior Vice President of Business Development, John Harton, recently sold US$90k worth of stock for US$9.00 per share. However we note that the sale only shrunk their holding by 3.6%.

View our latest analysis for Consumer Portfolio Services

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Consumer Portfolio Services

The CEO & Chairman, Charles Bradley, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$449k worth of shares at a price of US$8.98 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$9.48. 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. 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. We note that the biggest single sale was only 1.3% of Charles Bradley's holding.

In the last year Consumer Portfolio Services insiders didn't buy any company stock. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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).

Does Consumer Portfolio Services Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 36% of Consumer Portfolio Services shares, worth about US$73m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Consumer Portfolio Services Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Consumer Portfolio Services stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. 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 Consumer Portfolio Services you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

Of course Consumer Portfolio Services may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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.