The fact that multiple Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKWD) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive VP & CFO, Mark Haushill, sold US$3.8m worth of shares at a price of US$35.96 per share. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$35.09. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares, than buying. The average sell price was around US$35.97. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Of course, the sales could be motivated for a multitude of reasons, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen significant insider selling at Skyward Specialty Insurance Group. In total, Executive VP and President of Industry Solutions Kirby Hill dumped US$315k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Does Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Skyward Specialty Insurance Group insiders own 18% of the company, worth about US$260m. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Skyward Specialty Insurance Group Tell Us?

An insider sold Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares recently, but they didn't buy any. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. But since Skyward Specialty Insurance Group is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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.