Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Petra Diamonds' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
51% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
A look at the shareholders of Petra Diamonds Limited (LON:PDL) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 48% stake, institutions 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 so it follows that institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to UK￡82m last week after a 13% drop in the share price. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 37% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Also referred to as "smart money", institutions have a lot of sway over how a stock's price moves. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Petra Diamonds which might hurt individual investors.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Petra Diamonds, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Petra Diamonds?
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.
Petra Diamonds 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Petra Diamonds, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
earnings-and-revenue-growth
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Petra Diamonds. The Terris Fund, Spc is currently the largest shareholder, with 25% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 10% by the third-largest shareholder.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Petra Diamonds
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Petra Diamonds Limited. In their own names, insiders own UK￡4.8m worth of stock in the UK￡82m 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-- including retail investors -- own 21% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 25%, of the Petra Diamonds stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Petra Diamonds has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.
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.
