Have Insiders Been Buying Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (LON:CRST) Shares?
We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (LON:CRST), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.
Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own company’s stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.
View our latest analysis for Crest Nicholson Holdings
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Crest Nicholson Holdings
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Director Peter Truscott bought UK£182k worth of shares at a price of UK£2.02 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK£4.28), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.
Crest Nicholson Holdings insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Crest Nicholson Holdings insiders own about UK£7.7m worth of shares. That equates to 0.7% 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.
So What Do The Crest Nicholson Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Crest Nicholson Holdings insiders bought more shares in the company. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Crest Nicholson Holdings. While conducting our analysis, we found that Crest Nicholson Holdings has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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, but not derivative transactions.
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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