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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we’ll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in SAS AB (publ) (STO:SAS).

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

It’s quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. 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.’

Check out our latest analysis for SAS

SAS Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Chairman of the Board Carsten Dilling bought kr682k worth of shares at a price of kr19.36 per share. That implies that an insider found the current (approximate) price enticing. 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. We generally consider it a positive if insiders have been buying on market, even if the share price has increased a bit since then.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders bought 42.32k shares for a total of kr835k. In the last twelve months there was more buying than selling by SAS insiders. Their average price was about kr19.72. It’s great to see insiders putting their own cash into the company’s stock, albeit at below the recent share price (kr23.86). The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

SAS Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It’s good to see that SAS insiders have made notable investments in the company’s shares. Not only was there no selling that we can see, but they collectively bought kr835k worth of shares. This could be interpreted as suggesting a positive outlook.

Does SAS Boast High Insider Ownership?

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. Insiders own 3.1% of SAS shares, worth about kr284m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About SAS Insiders?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest SAS insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. Nice! Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in SAS, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course SAS may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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. On rare occasion, data errors may occur. Thank you for reading.