Results season beefs up trade

After Telstra disclosed full-year earnings improved 13%, chairman Catherine Livingstone bought shares at $5.09 a share and director Geoffrey Cousins invested $102,300 at $5.12 a share. For everyday investors, director buying after a positive results announcement can signal management’s confidence in the company, but it should be considered alongside your own research and broader market factors.

Engineering and construction group Downer EDI reported earnings improved 10% for the year and tipped flat earnings for the current year. Non-executive directors Kerry Sanderson and Annabelle Chaplain each bought 10,000 shares, at $3.90 and $4.16 a share respectively. Director purchases like these can indicate insider confidence even when near-term guidance is flat.

Directors of CuDeco, which is developing the Rocklands copper project, bought scrip after the company experienced a substantial share price fall. Key buyers included Wayne McCrae (who bought at $1.42), non-executive director Hongwei Liu, and others such as David Taylor and Peter Hutchison who paid between $1.42 and $1.66. Directors often buy after price drops, which can reflect their willingness to support the business or a belief the market has overreacted.

The article reports the overall scorecard registered between $2.3 million and $13.5 million in favour of sellers. That means, across the director trades covered, there was a net tilt toward directors selling holdings rather than buying during this period.

Interests associated with non-executive director Joakim Sundell accounted for a decent chunk of the selling activity for GBST Holdings, and chairman John Puttick also sold some stock. The article notes GBST’s shares are selling at $2.55 compared with $0.80 one year ago, highlighting significant price appreciation alongside director sales.

UGL managing director Richard Leupen has a contract term that gives him $500,000 worth of scrip each year for assisting the board with finding his successor. The article describes this arrangement as an extraordinary director filing.

The article illustrates several director buys and sales around company results—some directors buying after positive results or share price falls, others selling after strong gains. While director activity can be a useful signal of insider sentiment, everyday investors should treat it as one data point among many and combine it with fundamentals, valuations, and personal investment goals.

Yes. Examples from the article include Catherine Livingstone buying Telstra at $5.09 a share, Geoffrey Cousins investing $102,300 at $5.12 a share, Kerry Sanderson and Annabelle Chaplain each buying 10,000 Downer EDI shares at $3.90 and $4.16 respectively, and CuDeco’s Wayne McCrae buying at $1.42 (with others paying between $1.42 and $1.66). These concrete examples show the range of insider transactions reported.