Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Gladstone Commercial indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 40% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

Every investor in Gladstone Commercial Corporation (NASDAQ:GOOD) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 46% of the company’s shareholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Gladstone Commercial.

Check out our latest analysis for Gladstone Commercial

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Gladstone Commercial?

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.

Gladstone Commercial 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 Gladstone Commercial's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Gladstone Commercial is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.3% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.1% of common stock, and Renaissance Technologies LLC holds about 3.3% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO David Gladstone is the owner of 1.1% of the company's shares.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Gladstone Commercial

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.

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 some shares in Gladstone Commercial Corporation. In their own names, insiders own US$11m worth of stock in the US$774m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 52% of Gladstone Commercial shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Gladstone Commercial better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Gladstone Commercial is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit concerning...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.