Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Coastal Financial indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 39% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

If you want to know who really controls Coastal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 59% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week's 9.4% price gain, institutions also received a 22% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Coastal Financial.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Coastal Financial?

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 Coastal Financial does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's 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. 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 Coastal Financial's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Coastal Financial. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Steven Hovde with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 4.5% and 2.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that Eric Sprink, the CEO has 1.2% of the shares allocated to their name.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Coastal Financial

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 a reasonable proportion of Coastal Financial Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just US$642m, and insiders have US$120m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 59% of Coastal Financial. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Coastal Financial you should be aware of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com