The fact that multiple Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) insiders offloaded a considerable amount of shares over the past year could have raised some eyebrows amongst investors. 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, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Curtiss-Wright Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Chairman, Lynn Bamford, sold US$1.6m worth of shares at a price of US$225 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$257, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. However, while insider selling is sometimes discouraging, it's only a weak signal. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Lynn Bamford's holding.

Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$107k for 640.00 shares. But they sold 24.45k shares for US$5.4m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Curtiss-Wright shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

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Curtiss-Wright Insiders Are Selling The Stock

We've seen more insider selling than insider buying at Curtiss-Wright recently. We note insiders cashed in US$4.5m worth of shares. On the other hand we note insiders bought US$42k worth of shares. Generally this level of net selling might be considered a bit bearish.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.5% of Curtiss-Wright shares, worth about US$51m. 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. Zooming out, the longer term picture doesn't give us much comfort. On the plus side, Curtiss-Wright makes money, and is growing profits. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Curtiss-Wright. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Curtiss-Wright and we suggest you have a look.

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.