Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Nature's Sunshine Products implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 6 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

A look at the shareholders of Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATR) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

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. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

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

View our latest analysis for Nature's Sunshine Products

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nature's Sunshine Products?

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 Nature's Sunshine Products. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Nature's Sunshine Products' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It would appear that 23% of Nature's Sunshine Products shares are controlled by hedge funds. 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. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 16% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 13% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 9.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Terrence Moorehead is the owner of 2.2% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Nature's Sunshine Products

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 Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$13m worth of stock in the US$268m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 12% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 16% of Nature's Sunshine Products stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Nature's Sunshine Products better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Nature's Sunshine Products that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.