Retail investors account for 54% of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation's (NYSE:ACRE) ownership, while institutions account for 43%
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by retail investors in Ares Commercial Real Estate indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
37% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 43% of the company's stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ares Commercial Real Estate.
Check out our latest analysis for Ares Commercial Real Estate
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ares Commercial Real Estate?
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.
We can see that Ares Commercial Real Estate does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Ares Commercial Real Estate's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Ares Commercial Real Estate is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 9.1%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 4.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.6% by the third-largest shareholder.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where 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 Ares Commercial Real Estate
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation. In their own names, insiders own US$16m worth of stock in the US$514m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 54% stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Ares Commercial Real Estate (including 2 which can't be ignored) .
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
