Yahoo Finance With 43% ownership, HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) insiders have a lot at stake
Key Insights
HireQuest's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
The top 3 shareholders own 57% of the company
A look at the shareholders of HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 43% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
So it follows, every decision made by insiders of HireQuest regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about HireQuest.
Check out our latest analysis for HireQuest
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HireQuest?
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.
HireQuest already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 HireQuest's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in HireQuest. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Richard Hermanns with 22% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 19% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 17% by the third-largest shareholder.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
Insider Ownership Of HireQuest
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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of HireQuest, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$172m, and insiders have US$75m worth of shares in their own names. 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 27% stake in HireQuest. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 17%, of the company's shares. 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 HireQuest you should be aware of.
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.
