Insider: Directors nibbling at these four shares

Maybe it's the pig's ear of a general election, Brexit negotiations, grim economic data, or perhaps the warm weather, but company bosses appear reluctant to back themselves with their own cash this week.

However, while it's been pretty fruitless picking out big-money deals in the past few days, chiefs have been raiding the petty cash to top up their holdings.

Deals may have been smaller, but what activity there has been is of interest, particularly at one London insurer.

Hiscox

In May, Hiscox chief executive Bronek Masojada reported a strong start to the financial year, with gross written premiums up 17% in the first three months of 2017.

Masojada pointed to "long-term investment in Hiscox Retail, particularly in the small business sector". The London market has been difficult, but reinsurance business Hiscox Re and alternative capital unit ILS are "finding opportunities".

Hiscox shares have risen since, giving Masojada's wife Jane the opportunity to pocket a fortune. On 2 June, she sold 50,000 at 1,236p to net a cool £618,000.

But that looks to have been an exception. Less than a fortnight later three non-executive directors - Ernst Jansen, Colin Keogh and Anne MacDonald – spent almost £75,000 between them on Hiscox shares at £12.48 a pop.

Ignoring short-term noise, Hiscox has been one of the steadiest performers around - in 2001, they could be had for 72p.

A forward price/earnings (PE) ratio of 17 is not especially cheap, and the prospective yield of 2.5% not especially generous.

However, with the 2017 hurricane season tipped to be more active than first thought, Stockdale analyst Joanna Parsons argues that insurers with broader books beyond reinsurance look more attractive currently. That includes Hiscox.

Emis, Dignity and Speedy Hire

Emis, a supplier of software services to doctors up and down the country, has also done well since listing in 2010.

Its current financial year has started well, we were told in April, with "strong revenue visibility, growing market shares and solid order books and pipelines across every segment".

A structural reorganisation is pretty much done, and benefits should be obvious from the second half.

And now Nicola Boyd, wife of non-exec Kevin, has just splashed out almost £28,000 on 3,000 shares at a little under 926p.

At funeral director Dignity, non-exec Mary McNamara has acquired 1,000 shares at £24.04 on 12 June, three months after taking the job.

Management were full of beans following decent first quarter results in May, when chief Mike McCollum said expectations for the full-year remain "positive and unchanged".

Speedy Hire non-exec Rob Barclay has filled his truck with 29,000 shares in the tool hire firm 55.1p. A day earlier, finance director Chris Morgan loaded up wih 71,033 at 55p each.

Panmure Gordon upgraded forecasts after recent full-year results. Revenue growth of 12% was ahead of expectations, and pre-tax profit of £16.2 million also smashed forecasts.

"A massive step in the right direction," said analyst Adrian Kearsey. "With the shares trading on a price to book of 1.4x, there is scope for good upside in the share price," he added, repeating his 70p price target.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.