Some Navigator Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NVGS) shareholders may be a little concerned to see that the Chief Operating Officer, Michael Schroder, recently sold a substantial US$591k worth of stock at a price of US$23.63 per share. Probably the most concerning element of the whole transaction is that the disposal amounted to 83% of their entire holding.

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Navigator Holdings

In fact, the recent sale by Michael Schroder was the biggest sale of Navigator Holdings shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$23.13. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. Given that the sale took place at around current prices, it makes us a little cautious but is hardly a major concern.

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!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Does Navigator Holdings Boast High 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. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Insiders own 2.1% of Navigator Holdings shares, worth about US$31m. 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 Does This Data Suggest About Navigator Holdings Insiders?

An insider sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. But it is good to see that Navigator Holdings is growing earnings. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Navigator Holdings has 4 warning signs (2 are potentially serious!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Navigator Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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.

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.