Insider Selling: Public Policy (NASDAQ:PPHC) Director Sells 1,252 Shares of Stock

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPHC) Director Keenan Nealean Austin sold 1,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.35, for a total value of $12,958.20. Following the sale, the director owned 72,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,821. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Keenan Nealean Austin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 10th, Keenan Nealean Austin sold 468 shares of Public Policy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.19, for a total value of $4,768.92.

Public Policy Price Performance

NASDAQ PPHC traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $10.51. 76,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 118,132. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.44. Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.81 and a 52-week high of $15.15.

Public Policy (NASDAQ:PPHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 23rd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $49.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.90 million.

Public Policy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a yield of 342.0%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PPHC shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Public Policy from a “sell (e)” rating to a “sell (e-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Public Policy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Public Policy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Public Policy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Public Policy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Public Policy this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: CEO George Stewart Hall sold small blocks of shares on both June 10 and June 11, reducing his stake only slightly, but the repeated sales add to the broader insider-selling trend. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Keenan Nealean Austin also sold shares on June 10 and June 11, trimming ownership modestly; while the amounts were not huge, the sales reinforce the pattern of insider disposition. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Ronald J. Jr. Starzman sold shares on both dates as well, as did insiders Neal Howard Strum, Thomas Edward Gensemer, and Johnson Mccallum Green, creating a broad wave of insider selling across management. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: The overall takeaway for investors is that PPHC’s stock is drifting lower today because of the accumulation of insider sales, which may be interpreted as bearish sentiment from those closest to the business.

About Public Policy

Our mission is to become the preeminent provider of global strategic communications by uniting a diverse group of leading government relations, corporate communications and public affairs specialists around the world for the collective success of our clients, employees, and shareholders. Founded by veteran advisors with decades of experience in Washington, DC’s public policy and government relations landscape, we have grown and diversified our global communications advisory business through targeted acquisitions and organic growth.