With 47% ownership in Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited (ASX:IMB), hedge funds investors have a lot riding on the business

In this article:

Key Insights

  • Institutions' substantial holdings in Intelligent Monitoring Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price

  • 57% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders

  • Insiders have bought recently

A look at the shareholders of Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited (ASX:IMB) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are hedge funds with 47% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, hedge funds investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit AU$160m in market cap. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 212%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Intelligent Monitoring Group, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Intelligent Monitoring Group

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Intelligent Monitoring Group?

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.

We can see that Intelligent Monitoring Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Intelligent Monitoring Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

It would appear that 47% of Intelligent Monitoring Group 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. Our data shows that Black Crane Capital is the largest shareholder with 47% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.6% and 2.7% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Intelligent Monitoring Group

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$4.6m worth of the AU$160m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 31% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Intelligent Monitoring Group. 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 6.4%, of the Intelligent Monitoring Group stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Be aware that Intelligent Monitoring Group is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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