The considerable ownership by retail investors in Wildcat Resources indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
40% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company
If you want to know who really controls Wildcat Resources Limited (ASX:WC8), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 59% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit AU$269m market cap following a 10.0% gain in the stock.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wildcat Resources.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wildcat Resources?
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.
Since institutions own only a small portion of Wildcat Resources, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.
earnings-and-revenue-growth
Wildcat Resources is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Mineral Resources Limited is the largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 4.3% and 2.8% of the stock. Matthew Banks, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
Insider Ownership Of Wildcat Resources
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Wildcat Resources Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$26m worth of the AU$269m 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 59% of Wildcat Resources. 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 8.2%, of the Wildcat Resources 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.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 17% of the Wildcat Resources shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.
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.
