Key findings

• The significant holdings of institutions in Old Dominion Freight Line indicate that they have significant influence on the company’s share price
• The 12 largest shareholders own 50% of the company
• Current sales by insiders

Any investor in Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share of the company at 79%. That means the group benefits the most when the stock rises (or loses the most when there is a downturn).

Given the enormous amounts of money and research capabilities available to institutional investors, institutional ownership carries a lot of weight, especially with retail investors. Therefore, a significant amount of institutional money invested in a company is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let’s take a closer look at what the different shareholder types can tell us about Old Dominion Freight Line.

Check out our latest analysis for Old Dominion Freight Line

What does institutional ownership tell us about Old Dominion Freight Line?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that is similar to the local market, so they tend to pay more attention to companies listed in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors hold a significant amount of Old Dominion Freight Line. This suggests some credibility among professional investors. But we cannot rely on this fact alone, as institutions sometimes make bad investments, just like everyone else does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop when two large institutional investors try to sell a stock at the same time, so it is worth checking Old Dominion Freight Line’s past earnings history (see below). Of course, remember that there are other factors to consider as well.

Since institutional investors own more than half of the shares outstanding, the board will likely need to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds do not have significant investments in Old Dominion Freight Line. Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company’s largest shareholder, with 10% of the shares outstanding. For comparison, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.8% of the shares outstanding, followed by the third largest shareholder with 7.6%.

A look at the shareholder register shows that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the twelve largest shareholders. This means that no single shareholder has a majority stake in the ownership.

While studying institutional ownership of a company can enrich your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understanding of a stock’s expected performance. There are many analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth checking their forecasts as well.

Insider ownership of Old Dominion Freight Line

The definition of an insider may vary slightly in different countries, but members of the board of directors are always included. The company’s management is accountable to the board of directors, which should represent the interests of the shareholders. In particular, top managers are sometimes on the board of directors themselves.

Most people consider insider ownership to be a positive because it can indicate that the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, sometimes too much power is concentrated in this group.

Our latest data shows that insiders own a significant amount of Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. It’s very interesting to see that insiders own a significant $4.5 billion stake in this $43 billion company. Most would say that shows a good level of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. To see if these insiders have been buying or selling, click here.

Public property

The general public – including retail investors – owns 10% of the company’s shares and therefore cannot be easily ignored. While this level of ownership is significant, it may not be enough to change company policy if the decision does not align with that of other major shareholders.

Next Steps:

It is always worth thinking about the different groups that own shares in a company. But to better understand Old Dominion Freight Line, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we found 1 warning sign for Old Dominion Freight Line that you should know.

But ultimately It is the futurenot the past, will determine how well the owners of this company will perform, so we think it wise to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a better future.

NB: The figures in this article are calculated using the last twelve months’ data, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not match the figures in the annual report.

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This Simply Wall St article is of a general nature. We comment solely on the basis of historical data and analyst forecasts, using an unbiased methodology. Our articles do not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to provide you with long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St does not hold any of the stocks mentioned.