Over the past year, many Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for Hubbell in our free report.Hubbell Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the President of Hubbell Electrical Solutions Segment, Mark Mikes, sold US$779k worth of shares at a price of US$402 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$341. So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 1.11k shares for US$452k. On the other hand they divested 4.58k shares, for US$1.8m. In total, Hubbell insiders sold more than they bought over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
View our latest analysis for Hubbell
I will like Hubbell better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Hubbell Insiders Are Selling The Stock
The last three months saw significant insider selling at Hubbell. In total, Chief Human Resources Officer Alyssa Flynn sold US$453k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.
Does Hubbell Boast High Insider Ownership?
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Hubbell insiders own about US$68m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Hubbell Tell Us?
An insider hasn't bought Hubbell stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. On the plus side, Hubbell makes money, and is growing profits. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We'd practice some caution before buying! Therefore, you should definitely take a look at this FREE report showing analyst forecasts for Hubbell.
But note: Hubbell may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.