AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) shareholders may have reason to be concerned, as several insiders sold their shares over the past year.   When analyzing insider transactions, it is usually more valuable to know whether insiders are buying versus knowing if they are selling, as the latter sends an ambiguous message.  However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.    

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing,  we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

AMERISAFE Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The Executive VP & CFO, Anastasios Omiridis, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$170k worth of shares at a price of US$51.22 each.    That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$50.88.  While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price.  In this case, the big sale took place at around the current price, so it's not too bad (but it's still not a positive).    

Insiders in AMERISAFE didn't buy any shares in the last year.    You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below.  By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

NasdaqGS:AMSF Insider Trading Volume April 20th 2024

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of AMERISAFE

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own.  We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership.   AMERISAFE insiders own about US$16m worth of shares. That equates to 1.6% of the company.  We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.  

So What Does This Data Suggest About AMERISAFE Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded AMERISAFE shares in the last quarter.      We don't take much encouragement from the transactions by AMERISAFE insiders.   But we do like the fact that insiders own a fair chunk of the company.      So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing.    To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is significant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in AMERISAFE.  

Of course AMERISAFE may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.