Multiple insiders sold California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) stock in the last year, which isn't a good sign for investors

Quite a few California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) insiders sold their shares over the past year, which may be a cause for concern. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Check out our latest analysis for California Water Service Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At California Water Service Group

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the Independent Director, Thomas Krummel, sold US$96k worth of shares at a price of US$62.92 per share. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$56.73). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year California Water Service Group insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

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Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. California Water Service Group insiders own about US$32m worth of shares. That equates to 1.0% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At California Water Service Group Tell Us?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded California Water Service Group shares in the last quarter. Still, the insider transactions at California Water Service Group in the last 12 months are not very heartening. The modest level of insider ownership is, at least, some comfort. 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 - California Water Service Group has 3 warning signs 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, 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.