Stock Analysis

What Kind Of Shareholder Owns Most Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HASI) Stock?

NYSE:HASI
Source: Shutterstock

Every investor in Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HASI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

With a market capitalization of US$1.8b, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital is a decent size, so it is probably on the radar of institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about HASI.

Check out our latest analysis for Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital

NYSE:HASI Ownership Summary, September 1st 2019
NYSE:HASI Ownership Summary, September 1st 2019

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital does have institutional investors; and they hold 78% of the stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

NYSE:HASI Income Statement, September 1st 2019
NYSE:HASI Income Statement, September 1st 2019

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 Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital

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.

I can report that insiders do own shares in Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$63m. 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

The general public holds a 18% stake in HASI. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

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. Thank you for reading.