ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) is favoured by institutional owners who hold 71% of the company

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, ServisFirst Bancshares' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 11 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

A look at the shareholders of ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:SFBS) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company 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).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of ServisFirst Bancshares, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for ServisFirst Bancshares

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ServisFirst Bancshares?

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 ServisFirst Bancshares. 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. 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 ServisFirst Bancshares' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. ServisFirst Bancshares is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 14% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 10.0% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.8% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Thomas Broughton, the CEO has 3.0% of the shares allocated to their name.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 52% of the ownership is controlled by the top 11 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 ServisFirst Bancshares

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$308m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ServisFirst Bancshares. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Be aware that ServisFirst Bancshares is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

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.