Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, BrightSpire Capital's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership

• Insiders have been selling lately

Every investor in BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE:BRSP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 49% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of BrightSpire Capital.

View our latest analysis for BrightSpire Capital

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BrightSpire Capital?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in BrightSpire Capital. 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 BrightSpire Capital, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 8.4% of BrightSpire Capital. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 10% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.6% of common stock, and Nut Tree Capital Management, LP holds about 8.4% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Michael Mazzei directly holds 0.9% of the total shares outstanding.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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 BrightSpire Capital

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

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in BrightSpire Capital, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$17m worth of the US$836m company. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 40% stake in BrightSpire Capital. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand BrightSpire Capital better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for BrightSpire Capital that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.