Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.'s (NYSE:CPS) large institutional owners must be happy as stock continues to impress, up 42% over the past week

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Cooper-Standard Holdings' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 9 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CPS) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 71% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 42% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 134% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cooper-Standard Holdings.

View our latest analysis for Cooper-Standard Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cooper-Standard Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cooper-Standard Holdings. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Cooper-Standard Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.4% of Cooper-Standard Holdings. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Thrivent Investment Management Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 19% of shares outstanding. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.8% of common stock, and Millstreet Capital Management LLC holds about 5.4% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Jeffrey Edwards directly holds 1.0% of the total shares outstanding.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Cooper-Standard Holdings

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$9.8m worth of the US$315m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 21% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Cooper-Standard Holdings (of which 2 are a bit concerning!) you should know about.

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.