Yahoo Finance Probe Gold Inc.'s (TSE:PRB) largest shareholders are retail investors with 59% ownership, institutions own 24%
Key Insights
Probe Gold's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
40% of the business is held by the top 22 shareholders
Institutions own 24% of Probe Gold
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Probe Gold Inc. (TSE:PRB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 59% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And institutions on the other hand have a 24% ownership in the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Probe Gold, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Probe Gold
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Probe Gold?
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.
Probe Gold already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Probe Gold's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Probe Gold. Eldorado Gold Corporation is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.2% and 4.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Additionally, the company's CEO David Alexander Palmer directly holds 1.7% of the total shares outstanding.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 22 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Probe Gold
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.
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Probe Gold Inc.. In their own names, insiders own CA$12m worth of stock in the CA$223m 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
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 59% stake in Probe Gold, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Public Company Ownership
It appears to us that public companies own 9.0% of Probe Gold. 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 Probe Gold better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Probe Gold (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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.
