Do Insiders Own Lots Of Shares In Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT)?
Every investor in Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Warren Buffett said that he likes "a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people." So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.
Hersha Hospitality Trust is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$218m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Hersha Hospitality Trust.
See our latest analysis for Hersha Hospitality Trust
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hersha Hospitality Trust?
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.
Hersha Hospitality Trust already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Hersha Hospitality Trust's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hersha Hospitality Trust. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 4.1% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Jay Shah directly holds 1.5% of the total shares outstanding.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 14 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Hersha Hospitality Trust
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Hersha Hospitality Trust. In their own names, insiders own US$13m worth of stock in the US$218m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 20% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Hersha Hospitality Trust. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hersha Hospitality Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Hersha Hospitality Trust has 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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