After losing 13% in the past year, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Old Dominion Freight Line's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 79% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors would appreciate the 4.9% increase in share price last week, given their one-year losses have totalled a disappointing 13%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Old Dominion Freight Line.

Check out our latest analysis for Old Dominion Freight Line

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Old Dominion Freight Line?

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.

Old Dominion Freight Line 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 Old Dominion Freight Line's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Old Dominion Freight Line. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 10% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 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 Old Dominion Freight Line

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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.. Insiders own US$3.5b worth of shares in the US$34b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 10% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Old Dominion Freight Line. 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 Old Dominion Freight Line better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Old Dominion Freight Line that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.