How Much Of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (NASDAQ:SBT) Do Insiders Own?
A look at the shareholders of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (NASDAQ:SBT) can tell us which group is most powerful. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.
With a market capitalization of US$304m, Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI) is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI).
See our latest analysis for Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI)
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI)?
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.
Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI) 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 Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI)'s historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
It looks like hedge funds own 5.2% of Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI) shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Erwin Rubenstein is currently the largest shareholder, with 24% of shares outstanding. Scott Seligman is the second largest shareholder owning 24% of common stock, and AllianceBernstein L.P. holds about 5.3% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Thomas O'Brien, the CEO has 0.6% of the shares allocated to their name.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. 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 Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI)
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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI). This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of US$304m, that means they have US$168m worth of shares. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI). 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:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Sterling Bancorp (Southfield MI) you should know about.
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.
