Porch Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PRCH) one-year returns climbed after last week's 53% gain, institutional investors must be happy
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies Porch Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
The top 6 shareholders own 51% of the company
If you want to know who really controls Porch Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRCH), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 59% 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.
Last week’s 53% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 2.0% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Porch Group.
View our latest analysis for Porch Group
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Porch Group?
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.
Porch Group 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 Porch Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Porch Group. With a 20% stake, CEO Matthew Ehrlichman is the largest shareholder. Granahan Investment Management, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 13% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 5.8% of the company stock.
We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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 Porch Group
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.
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.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Porch Group, Inc.. Insiders have a US$22m stake in this US$103m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 20% stake in Porch Group. 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 Porch Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Porch Group (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
