Every investor in Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. 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.
Southside Bancshares isn’t enormous, but it’s not particularly small either. It has a market capitalization of US$985m, which means it would generally expect to see some institutions on the share registry. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Southside Bancshares.
View our latest analysis for Southside Bancshares
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Southside Bancshares?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
We can see that Southside Bancshares does have institutional investors; and they hold 55% of the stock. 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 Southside Bancshares, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in Southside Bancshares. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. With 6.2% and 4.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors L.P. are the second and third largest shareholders.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 19 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no one share holder has a majority.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Southside Bancshares
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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.
I can report that insiders do own shares in Southside Bancshares, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$985m, and insiders have US$53m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 39% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over SBSI. 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 Southside Bancshares better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Southside Bancshares is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn’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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
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