Yahoo Finance Bullish insiders at John Menzies plc (LON:MNZS) loaded up on UK£4.3m of stock earlier this year
Over the last year, a good number of insiders have significantly increased their holdings in John Menzies plc (LON:MNZS). This is encouraging because it indicates that insiders are more optimistic 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.
View our latest analysis for John Menzies
John Menzies Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman & CEO Philipp Joeinig bought UK£3.6m worth of shares at a price of UK£2.90 per share. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being UK£2.75). Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. In our view, the price an insider pays for shares is very important. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock if insiders have bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price.
John Menzies insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and 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!
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insider Ownership
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. John Menzies insiders own about UK£8.2m worth of shares. That equates to 3.3% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.
So What Does This Data Suggest About John Menzies Insiders?
The fact that there have been no John Menzies insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. While we have no worries about the insider transactions, we'd be more comfortable if they owned more John Menzies stock. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for John Menzies you should be aware of, and 1 of these is a bit unpleasant.
Of course John Menzies 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, but not derivative transactions.
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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.
