Yahoo Finance Insider Buying: The Ensurance Limited (ASX:ENA) Non-Executive Chairman Just Bought 3.5% More Shares
Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Ensurance Limited (ASX:ENA) Non-Executive Chairman, Anthony Leibowitz, recently bought AU$120k worth of stock, for AU$0.24 per share. Although the purchase is not a big one, increasing their shareholding by only 3.5%, it can be interpreted as a good sign.
View our latest analysis for Ensurance
Ensurance Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
Notably, that recent purchase by Anthony Leibowitz is the biggest insider purchase of Ensurance shares that we've seen in the last year. That implies that an insider found the current price of AU$0.25 per share to be enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. While we always like to see insider buying, it's less meaningful if the purchases were made at much lower prices, as the opportunity they saw may have passed. The good news for Ensurance share holders is that insiders were buying at near the current price.
Ensurance insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and 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!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Does Ensurance Boast High Insider Ownership?
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Ensurance insiders own about AU$8.4m worth of shares. That equates to 37% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.
So What Do The Ensurance Insider Transactions Indicate?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Ensurance insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. For example - Ensurance has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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, 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.
