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Yahoo Finance Plus After losing 4.4% in the past year, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain
A look at the shareholders of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 58% 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.
Institutional investors would probably welcome last week's 3.8% increase in share prices after a year of 4.4% losses as a sign that returns are likely to begin trending higher.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 16% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 6.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 15 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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 Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance
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.
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.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own US$8.1m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance. 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 6.0%, of the Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit concerning.
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.
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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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