(NASDAQ:WERN) Boasts Of Strong Institutional Backing

With 87% ownership, Werner Enterprises, Inc. boasts of strong institutional backing.
Key Insights
1. Institutions' substantial holdings in Werner Enterprises implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price

2. A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership

3. Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 87% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Werner Enterprises?
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 Werner Enterprises. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth.

Insider Ownership Of Werner Enterprises
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Werner Enterprises, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$31m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders.