Insiders were net buyers of Victoria's Secret & Co.'s (NYSE:VSCO ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.
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.
See our latest analysis for Victoria's Secret
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Victoria's Secret
In fact, the recent purchase by Timothy Johnson was the biggest purchase of Victoria's Secret shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is US$18.49. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the Victoria's Secret insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Timothy Johnson was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.
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!
Victoria's Secret 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.
Insider Ownership Of Victoria's Secret
Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Victoria's Secret insiders own about US$160m worth of shares (which is 11% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.
So What Do The Victoria's Secret Insider Transactions Indicate?
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Once you factor in the high insider ownership, it certainly seems like insiders are positive about Victoria's Secret. One for the watchlist, at least! While we like knowing 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. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Victoria's Secret (1 is significant!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.