Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Games Workshop Group PLC (LON:GAW) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by CEO & Executive Director Kevin Rountree for UK£381k worth of shares, at about UK£163 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (UK£195), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.
In the last twelve months Games Workshop Group insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
Check out our latest analysis for Games Workshop Group
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. If investing in lesser known companies is your style, you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
We saw some Games Workshop Group insider buying shares in the last three months. CEO & Executive Director Kevin Rountree bought UK£30k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.
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. From our data, it seems that Games Workshop Group insiders own 0.08% of the company, worth about UK£5.0m. Overall, this level of ownership isn't that impressive, but it's certainly better than nothing!
Insider purchases may have been minimal, in the last three months, but there was no selling at all. The net investment is not enough to encourage us much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. The transactions are fine but it'd be more encouraging if Games Workshop Group insiders bought more shares in the company. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.