Some Hargreaves Services Plc (LON:HSP) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Non-Executive Director, Nicholas Harwood Mills, recently sold a substantial UK£7.0m worth of stock at a price of UK£8.76 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 99% of their entire holding.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hargreaves Services
In fact, the recent sale by Nicholas Harwood Mills was the biggest sale of Hargreaves Services shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was slightly below the current price of UK£8.80, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. 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 99% of Nicholas Harwood Mills's holding.
All up, insiders sold more shares in Hargreaves Services than they bought, over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Check out our latest analysis for Hargreaves Services
I will like Hargreaves Services better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Insider Ownership Of Hargreaves Services
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Hargreaves Services insiders own about UK£32m worth of shares. That equates to 12% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Hargreaves Services Tell Us?
The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Hargreaves Services, in the last three months. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Hargreaves Services is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that Hargreaves Services is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant...
But note: Hargreaves Services 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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