Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Consumer Portfolio Services' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 53% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPSS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 35% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Consumer Portfolio Services.

Check out our latest analysis for Consumer Portfolio Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Consumer Portfolio Services?

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 Consumer Portfolio Services. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Consumer Portfolio Services, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Consumer Portfolio Services. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C. with 24% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 18% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.4% by the third-largest shareholder. Charles Bradley, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

On looking further, we found that 53% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 Consumer Portfolio Services

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc.. Insiders have a US$67m stake in this US$193m 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

With a 15% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Consumer Portfolio Services. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 24%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

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 3 warning signs for Consumer Portfolio Services you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.