雅虎香港財經 After losing 36% in the past year, Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain
Key Insights
Institutions' substantial holdings in Overstock.com implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
A total of 20 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 70% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
After a year of 36% losses, last week’s 8.8% gain would be welcomed by institutional investors as a likely sign that returns might start trending higher.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Overstock.com.
See our latest analysis for Overstock.com
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Overstock.com?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Overstock.com. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Overstock.com's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Overstock.com is not owned by hedge funds. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.3% and 3.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 20 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Overstock.com
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Overstock.com, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$890m, and insiders have US$12m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Overstock.com. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Overstock.com that you should be aware of before investing here.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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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.
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