Willdan Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:WLDN) institutional investors lost 9.5% last week but have benefitted from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Willdan Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 21 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

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If you want to know who really controls Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN), 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 72% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by US$56m last week. However, the 31% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Willdan Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Willdan Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Willdan Group?

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.

Willdan Group 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. 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 Willdan Group's 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. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Willdan Group. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 7.9%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.1% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Michael Bieber is the owner of 1.2% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 21 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. 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 Willdan Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Willdan Group, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$553m, and insiders have US$36m worth of shares, in their own names. 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. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Willdan Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Willdan Group .

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.