Insiders At International Seaways Sold US$7.9m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

The fact that multiple International Seaways, Inc. (NYSE:INSW) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for International Seaways

International Seaways Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CFO, Senior VP & Treasurer, Jeffrey Pribor, sold US$2.2m worth of shares at a price of US$62.37 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$38.39. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year International Seaways insiders didn't buy any company stock. 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!

I will like International Seaways 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.

Insiders At International Seaways Have Sold Stock Recently

The last three months saw some International Seaways insider selling. Senior VP & Chief Commercial Officer Derek Solon divested only US$47k worth of shares in that time. Neither the lack of buying nor the presence of selling is heartening. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.

Does International Seaways 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. 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 1.3% of International Seaways shares, worth about US$23m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At International Seaways Tell Us?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. However, the sales are not big enough to concern us at all. Recent sales exacerbate our caution arising from analysis of International Seaways insider transactions. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. While it's good to be aware of 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for International Seaways (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

Of course International Seaways 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.