A number of insiders bought LSL Property Services plc (LON:LSL) stock last year, which is great news for shareholders

It is usually uneventful when a single insider buys stock. However, When quite a few insiders buy shares, as it happened in LSL Property Services plc's (LON:LSL) case, it's fantastic news for shareholders.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for LSL Property Services

LSL Property Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Group CEO & Executive Director David Stewart made the biggest insider purchase in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for UK£68k worth of shares at a price of UK£4.02 each. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK£2.39 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. It is generally more encouraging if they paid above the current price, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels.

In the last twelve months LSL Property Services insiders were buying shares, but not selling. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

LSL Property Services is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does LSL Property Services Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that LSL Property Services insiders own 10% of the company, worth about UK£26m. 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 LSL Property Services Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no LSL Property Services insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. Overall we don't see anything to make us think LSL Property Services insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For example, LSL Property Services has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

But note: LSL Property Services 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, 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.

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