Insiders At Curtiss-Wright Sold US$7.8m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Over the past year, many Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Curtiss-Wright

Curtiss-Wright Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Sheri Fuller, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$3.0m worth of shares at a price of US$281 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$347. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 34% of Sheri Fuller's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$120k for 447.00 shares. But they sold 31.08k shares for US$7.8m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Curtiss-Wright shares, than buying. They sold for an average price of about US$250. We don't gain confidence from insider selling below the recent share price. Of course, the sales could be motivated for a multitude of reasons, so we shouldn't jump to conclusions. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Curtiss-Wright better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Curtiss-Wright Insiders Are Selling The Stock

Over the last three months, we've seen notably more insider selling, than insider buying, at Curtiss-Wright. In that time, Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development John Watts dumped US$148k worth of shares. On the flip side, insiders spent US$69k on purchasing shares. Since the selling really does outweigh the buying, we'd say that these transactions may suggest that some insiders feel the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of Curtiss-Wright

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. Insiders own 0.5% of Curtiss-Wright shares, worth about US$64m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Curtiss-Wright Insider Transactions Indicate?

The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Curtiss-Wright, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But since Curtiss-Wright is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Curtiss-Wright, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

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.