Have Insiders Been Selling Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI) Shares This Year?
We often see insiders buying up shares in companies that perform well over the long term. On the other hand, we’d be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Sun Communities, Inc. (NYSE:SUI).
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 on the market. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
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 Colombia 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’.
Check out our latest analysis for Sun Communities
Sun Communities Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when President & COO John McLaren sold US$625k worth of shares at a price of US$96.16 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at below the current price (US$107). Even though it doesn’t necessarily mean anything, that’s certainly not a positive sign, in our book. When an insider sells below the current price, it does tend to make us wonder about the current valuation. Please note, however, that this single sale was just 4% of John McLaren’s stake.
Over the last year, we note insiders sold 9.90k shares worth US$938k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Sun Communities shares, than buying. The sellers received a price of around US$94.77, on average. It’s not particularly great to see insiders were selling shares around current prices. While some insiders have decided to take some money off the table, we wouldn’t put too much weight on this fact. You can see the insider transactions 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!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Sun Communities Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Sun Communities. In total, Lead Independent Director Clunet Lewis dumped US$120k worth of shares in that time, and we didn’t record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it’s hard to argue that all the directors think that the shares are a bargain.
Insider Ownership of Sun Communities
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Sun Communities insiders own 3.0% of the company, currently worth about US$288m based on the recent share price. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Sun Communities Insiders?
An insider sold Sun Communities shares recently, but they didn’t buy any. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn’t show any insider buying. On the plus side, Sun Communities makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn’t make us feel confident about the company. Therefore, you should should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Sun Communities.
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.
To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
