Have Chemring Group Insiders Been Selling Stock?
We'd be surprised if Chemring Group PLC (LON:CHG) shareholders haven't noticed that the Group Legal Director, Sarah Ellard, recently sold UK£347k worth of stock at UK£6.02 per share. That sale was 22% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Chemring Group
Notably, that recent sale by Sarah Ellard is the biggest insider sale of Chemring Group shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of UK£6.30. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 22% of Sarah Ellard's stake.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid UK£267k for 50.62k shares. On the other hand they divested 102.21k shares, for UK£585k. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Chemring Group shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!
View our latest analysis for Chemring Group
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Insider Ownership Of Chemring Group
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. From our data, it seems that Chemring Group insiders own 0.4% of the company, worth about UK£7.4m. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.
So What Do The Chemring Group Insider Transactions Indicate?
An insider hasn't bought Chemring Group stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. When you combine this with the relatively low insider ownership, we are very cautious about the stock. So we're not rushing to buy, to say the least. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Chemring Group you should be aware of.
Of course Chemring 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 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.