undamentalytics Newsletter

Womack Christopher C: insider trades

Officer at Southern Company. No open-market purchases and 16 sales not made under a pre-set plan, reported from July 29, 2010 to March 6, 2020.

What happened after Womack Christopher C’s sales?

After their sales, the shares moved −4.7% against the index over 12 months on average (a negative figure means selling was the right call); 56% trailed it.

With 296 insiders tested, some will look skilled or unskilled by chance alone: when we replaced each insider’s stocks with random companies bought on the same days, about 5.7 cleared the bar ahead and 23.3 behind. One record on its own proves little.

Trade by trade

Womack Christopher C: trades against the S&P 500 afterwards
MeasuredTrades countedAverage vs S&P 500MedianWent the right wayYearst-statisticp-valueEvidence
Purchases, 3 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 6 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the report 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Purchases, 12 months after the trade 0 — — — — — — Not enough years
Sales, 3 months after the report 16 +0.3% +0.9% 44% 11 −0.16 0.88 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the report 16 −4.7% −5.5% 56% 11 −0.53 0.61 No reliable evidence
Sales, 12 months after the trade 16 −3.6% −2.8% 56% 11 −0.36 0.72 No reliable evidence

“Average vs S&P 500” is the stock’s return including dividends minus the index’s over the same dates, from the close on the first trading day after the report, or from the close on the trade date. Only windows that have finished are counted. For sales, a negative figure means the stock lagged after it was sold, so selling was the right call (green). “Went the right way” is the share of purchases that beat the index, or of sales that trailed it. The t-statistic uses one average per year of reports, because one person’s trades bunch into the same stock and weeks, and needs trades in at least four different years; the p-value comes from the t distribution with that number of years (with four years, a t of 2 has p = 0.14). “Some evidence” means p under 5%, “strong evidence” p under 1% over at least six years.

Companies traded

CompanyTitle on the latest filingPurchasesSalesFirst reportLatest report
Southern Company SO EVP & Pres. External Affairs016July 29, 2010March 6, 2020

Trades and what followed

Moves are against the S&P 500; green means the trade went the insider’s way.

ReportedTradedCompanyTradeValue3 months after report12 months after report12 months after trade
March 6, 2020March 5, 2020 SO Sale $669,226 −20.4%−43.9%−39.0%
March 8, 2019March 7, 2019 SO Sale $952,912 +3.0%+20.2%+27.8%
August 17, 2018August 16, 2018 SO Sale $775,985 +5.6%+26.0%+24.6%
August 4, 2017August 3, 2017 SO Sale $3,703,848 +3.5%−12.1%−12.8%
March 1, 2017February 27, 2017 SO Sale $109,886 −0.2%−23.0%−27.4%
August 3, 2016August 2, 2016 SO Sale $2,456,827 −2.0%−20.6%−19.5%
May 2, 2016April 29, 2016 SO Sale $5,051,100 +1.8%−15.6%−14.5%
February 5, 2016February 4, 2016 SO Sale $755,170 −8.4%−21.7%−16.8%
October 30, 2015October 29, 2015 SO Sale $2,649,276 +17.1%+14.3%+14.0%
February 13, 2015February 12, 2015 SO Sale $3,936,861 −4.8%+16.4%+16.7%
September 2, 2014August 29, 2014 SO Sale $2,257,490 +5.9%+1.5%+2.0%
December 6, 2013December 6, 2013 SO Sale $1,084,761 +1.4%+6.9%+5.2%
June 8, 2012June 7, 2012 SO Sale $1,184,329 −12.2%−29.3%−28.6%
August 18, 2011August 17, 2011 SO Sale $1,023,606 −0.1%−8.9%−2.8%
May 6, 2011May 5, 2011 SO Sale $1,059,420 +13.9%+16.7%+16.0%
July 29, 2010July 29, 2010 SO Sale $529,985 +0.4%−2.2%−2.9%

Open-market purchases and sales of at least $10,000 in companies we cover, from SEC Form 4 filings; sales made under a pre-set Rule 10b5-1 plan are not shown. “Not yet” means the window has not finished or the share price was under $5 at entry. These are the shares’ moves after each trade: they say nothing about why Womack Christopher C traded and do not suggest the use of non-public information. How every insider compares · the insider trading backtest.