Key Insights

• Significant insider control over HireQuest implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 3 shareholders own 57% of the company
• 14% of HireQuest is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of HireQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:HQI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

So, insiders of HireQuest have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

View our latest analysis for HireQuest

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HireQuest?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in HireQuest. 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 HireQuest's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in HireQuest. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Richard Hermanns with 21% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 19% and 17%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 57% stake.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of HireQuest

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of HireQuest, Inc.. Insiders have a US$84m stake in this US$196m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 26% stake in HireQuest. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 17%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - HireQuest has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.