How Many Hong Lai Huat Group Limited (SGX:CTO) Shares Did Insiders Buy, In The Last Year?
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. 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 shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Hong Lai Huat Group Limited (SGX:CTO).
What Is Insider Buying?
It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.
We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
See our latest analysis for Hong Lai Huat Group
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Hong Lai Huat Group
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Executive Deputy Chairman & CEO Bee Ong for S$402k worth of shares, at about S$0.25 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than S$0.21 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Bee Ong.
Bee Ong bought a total of 8.7m shares over the year at an average price of S$0.24. You can see the insider transactions (by 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!
Hong Lai Huat Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that Hong Lai Huat Group insiders own 31% of the company, worth about S$15m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Hong Lai Huat Group Insiders?
It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in Hong Lai Huat Group shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). To put this in context, take a look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow .
Of course Hong Lai Huat Group 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 aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
