Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) director Nicholas Politis AM has been on a buying spree of late. In fact, he’s been on a buying spree for at least a decade.
And this sends a big signal of confidence to ordinary ASX 200 investors.
According to recent notices lodged with the ASX, Politis was once again keenly raising his stake in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) company he helps run last week.
Eagers Automotive is Australia’s largest car dealership group.
Politis is the executive chair of WFM Motors, which is Eagers Automotive’s largest shareholder.
ASX director buys $600,000 worth of shares in a week
According to the latest disclosure, Politis now holds more than 70.635 million Eagers shares.
The Eagers Automotive share price opened the session today at $12.73. That gives Politis a total portfolio value of just under $900 million.
Notices lodged with the ASX reveal he purchased another 10,000 shares on-market per day last week at a total cost of just over $617,000.
Historical records show Politis has made 186 on-market purchases over the past 10 years, with not a single sell order made in that time.
Politis has spent a total of just under $42.85 million during this decade-long history of ASX buys.
This sort of trading isn’t so unusual.
When a company director is passionate about their business, it’s pretty routine to see them upping their personal stake at regular intervals.
The most stunning example of this was seen back in March when fellow ASX 200 retail boss Gerry Harvey spent more than $70 million buying more Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) shares.
And that was over a single month!
Politis’s purchases follow the recent Eagers Automotive annual general meeting (AGM) on 24 May.
What happened at the Eagers AGM?
At the AGM, Eagers chair Tim Crommelin said demand for vehicles in 2023 continues to exceed supply.
Crommelin said:
In the first four months of the year, demand for vehicles continued to exceed supply and our order bank continues to grow to record levels with an extended run-off period.
Despite a number of challenges in the operating environment, including port congestion, bio security issues and the cost pressures that exist across the broader economy, we are pleased to report that underlying net profit before tax for the period to April 2023 is in line with 2022 levels.
Eagers and the EV opportunity
Eagers CEO Keith Thornton discussed the “generational opportunity” of car electrification.
Thornton said:
… Eagers Automotive has been proactive in positioning the business to play a leading role in the transition to a lower emission future, particularly in the affordable NEV or New Energy
Vehicle segment, which includes both Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric
Vehicle (PHEV) categories.We continue to make progress with our plans uniquely positioning the company to deliver on this generational opportunity for our shareholders.
We remain very confident that our business structure, scale and strategy, combined with the
strength of our balance sheet provides the company with the capacity and flexibility to pursue
accretive growth opportunities while mitigating against economic headwinds
Recent history of this ASX 200 share
The Eagers Automotive share price is up 17.65% in the year to date.
Over the same period, the ASX 200 has ascended 3.5%.
