29Metals Limited (ASX:29M) is a favorite amongst institutional investors who own 67%
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies 29Metals' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
The top 3 shareholders own 55% of the company
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
Every investor in 29Metals Limited (ASX:29M) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 67% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. 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. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about 29Metals.
Check out our latest analysis for 29Metals
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About 29Metals?
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.
29Metals already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 29Metals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. 29Metals is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is EMR Capital Advisors Pty Ltd., with ownership of 31%. With 14% and 9.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Australian Super Pty Ltd and EMR Capital Pty. Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.
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 are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of 29Metals
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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of 29Metals Limited in their own names. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than AU$1.8m worth of shares in the AU$263m company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 18% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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
Private equity firms hold a 9.7% stake in 29Metals. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 3.8%, of the shares on issue. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand 29Metals better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for 29Metals you should know about.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com