Institutional investors control 85% of Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 5.7%

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Curtiss-Wright's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in Curtiss-Wright. Read for free now.

If you want to know who really controls Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 85% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained US$730m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 34% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Curtiss-Wright.

Check out our latest analysis for Curtiss-Wright

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Curtiss-Wright?

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.

Curtiss-Wright 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 Curtiss-Wright's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Curtiss-Wright. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 11% of shares outstanding. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.6% of common stock, and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. holds about 4.0% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 22 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 Curtiss-Wright

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$63m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 15% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Curtiss-Wright. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Curtiss-Wright , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.