Assured Guaranty Insiders Sold US$19m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

The fact that multiple Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO) 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 is usually more beneficial than knowing whether they are selling, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, shareholders should take a deeper look if several insiders are selling stock over a specific time period.

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.

View our latest analysis for Assured Guaranty

Assured Guaranty Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Deputy Chairman, Dominic Frederico, for US$5.1m worth of shares, at about US$92.83 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$78.19). So it may not tell us anything about how insiders feel about the current share price.

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

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Assured Guaranty Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last three months saw significant insider selling at Assured Guaranty. In total, insiders dumped US$5.8m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Insider Ownership Of Assured Guaranty

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It's great to see that Assured Guaranty insiders own 5.5% of the company, worth about US$229m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Assured Guaranty Tell Us?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. But since Assured Guaranty is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Assured Guaranty (including 1 which is concerning).

Of course Assured Guaranty 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.

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