Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Australian Agricultural implies vested interests in company growth

• 52% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Bryan Glinton)

• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Australian Agricultural Company Limited (ASX:AAC) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 73% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

So, insiders of Australian Agricultural have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Australian Agricultural

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Australian Agricultural?

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 Australian Agricultural. 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 Australian Agricultural's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Australian Agricultural. Our data shows that Bryan Glinton is the largest shareholder with 52% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. John Andrew Forrest is the second largest shareholder owning 19% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.0% of the company stock.

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.