HOUSTON—James Charles Hays (LON:HAYS), a director at Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKWD), recently sold a significant portion of his holdings in the company, according to a regulatory filing submitted on December 4, 2024. The sale comes as the $2.17 billion market cap insurer trades near its 52-week high of $54.93, having delivered an impressive 62% return year-to-date.
Hays disposed of a total of 75,000 shares of Skyward Specialty common stock over two days. On December 3, he sold 25,000 shares at an average price of approximately $54.00 per share, and on December 4, he sold an additional 50,000 shares at an average price of about $54.22 per share. The total value of these transactions amounted to approximately $4.06 million. According to InvestingPro analysis, the company maintains excellent financial health with strong liquidity ratios.
Following these sales, Hays, through his indirect ownership via Marquis Lafayette, LLC, holds 697,261 shares of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group. Additionally, he directly owns 27,618 shares.
Skyward Specialty, headquartered in Houston, operates in the fire, marine, and casualty insurance sector.
In other recent news, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group reported strong Q2 earnings and revenue, exceeding expectations. This positive financial performance led to an upward revision of price targets by several firms including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, BMO Capital Markets, and JMP Securities. In line with these recent developments, the company secured a significant $57 million loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, further strengthening its financial standing.
Analysts from William Blair maintained an Outperform rating on Skyward Specialty, predicting that the company will continue to surpass earnings forecasts. The company's earnings are projected to near the $3.50 mark by 2025, outpacing the more cautious consensus estimates of $3.21. This positive outlook is attributed to Skyward's strategic focus on less volatile P&C market segments and a conservative approach to reserving.
Skyward Specialty also formed a strategic joint venture with Bishop Street Underwriters, a subsidiary of RedBird Capital Partners (WA:CPAP), aiming to enhance specialty property and casualty insurance offerings. Despite Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts noting a potential temporary growth pause as the company shifts away from commercial auto and more cycle-driven business lines, William Blair and Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an Outperform and Perform rating respectively. Lastly, Skyward Specialty announced a secondary public offering of 4,400,000 shares of common stock by The Westaim Corporation (TSXV:WED).
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