Insiders At Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Sold US$6.1m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

The fact that multiple Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KNX) 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, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings. View them for free.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Executive Chairman, Kevin Knight, sold US$3.8m worth of shares at a price of US$51.53 per share. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$40.36). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings shares, than buying. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

Check out our latest analysis for Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings

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Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Insiders Bought Stock Recently

It's good to see that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings insiders have made notable investments in the company's shares. We can see that insider Douglas Col paid US$227k for shares in the company. No-one sold. That shows some optimism about the company's future.

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. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings insiders own about US$200m worth of shares (which is 3.0% of the company). This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Insiders?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The recent buying by an insider , along with high insider ownership, suggest that Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings insiders are fairly aligned, and optimistic. 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. For example - Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings has 1 warning sign 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.