Read This Before Buying Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) Shares
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 before you buy or sell Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.
What Is Insider Selling?
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 equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.'
Check out our latest analysis for Vector Group
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Vector Group
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President, Howard Lorber, sold US$9.9m worth of shares at a price of US$14.18 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take price at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$9.59). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.
Over the last year, we note insiders sold 1.6m shares worth US$21m. In the last year Vector Group insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insider Ownership of Vector Group
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. Vector Group insiders own 8.1% of the company, currently worth about US$109m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About Vector Group Insiders?
There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. While we feel good about high insider ownership of Vector Group, we can't say the same about the selling of shares. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Vector Group, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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 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.
