United Airlines Holdings, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:UAL) high institutional ownership speaks for itself as stock continues to impress, up 8.7% over last week

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in United Airlines Holdings implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL), 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 83% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 8.7% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 169% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of United Airlines Holdings.

See our latest analysis for United Airlines Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About United Airlines Holdings?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in United Airlines Holdings. 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. 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 United Airlines Holdings' 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. United Airlines Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.7% and 7.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of United Airlines Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 less than 1% of United Airlines Holdings, Inc.. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own US$187m worth of shares (at current prices). In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% 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 United Airlines Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for United Airlines Holdings you should know about.

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.