With 55% ownership, eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) boasts of strong institutional backing
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, eHealth's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 14 shareholders own 51% of the company
Every investor in eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about eHealth.
Check out our latest analysis for eHealth
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About eHealth?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
We can see that eHealth does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 eHealth'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. It would appear that 18% of eHealth shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. The company's largest shareholder is Palo Alto Investors LP, with ownership of 9.7%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Francis Soistman directly holds 0.8% of the total shares outstanding.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 14 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 eHealth
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
We can see that insiders own shares in eHealth, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$4.6m worth of the US$223m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 26% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand eHealth better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for eHealth that you should be aware of.
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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