Key Insights

• Significant control over Republic Bancorp by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Republic Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCA.A) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While the holdings of private companies took a hit after last week's 4.8% price drop, institutions with their 26% holdings also suffered.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Republic Bancorp?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Republic Bancorp. 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. 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. You can see Republic Bancorp's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Republic Bancorp is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Teebank Family Limited Partnership with 46% of shares outstanding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP is the second largest shareholder owning 4.9% of common stock, and Jaytee Properties Lp holds about 4.7% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Steven Trager, the CEO has 0.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% 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 some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Republic Bancorp

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

We can see that insiders own shares in Republic Bancorp, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$50m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in Republic Bancorp. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 51%, of the Republic Bancorp stock. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Republic Bancorp (1 can't be ignored!) 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.