Insiders are probably glad they sold their shares in Territorial Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:TBNK) after 15% drop

Insiders at Territorial Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:TBNK) sold US$140k worth of stock at an average price of US$23.34 a share over the past year, making the most of their investment. The company's market worth decreased by US$29m over the past week after the stock price dropped 15%, although insiders were able to minimize their losses

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for Territorial Bancorp

Territorial Bancorp Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Vice Chairman, Vernon Hirata, sold US$83k worth of shares at a price of US$23.61 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$19.20. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels. Vernon Hirata was the only individual insider to sell shares in the last twelve months.

Vernon Hirata ditched 6.00k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$23.34. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

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

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Territorial Bancorp insiders own 9.2% of the company, worth about US$16m. 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 Do The Territorial Bancorp Insider Transactions Indicate?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded Territorial Bancorp shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at Territorial Bancorp in the last 12 months are not very heartening. But it's good to see that insiders own shares in 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. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Territorial Bancorp has 2 warning signs (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting 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, but not derivative transactions.

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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.