Key Insights
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Institutions’ substantial holdings in IGO implies that they have significant influence over the company’s share price
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50% of the business is held by the top 14 shareholders
To get a sense of who is truly in control of IGO Limited (ASX:IGO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 50% 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.
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.
Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about IGO.
View our latest analysis for IGO
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About IGO?
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.
IGO 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 IGO’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
IGO is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Yandal Investments Pty. Ltd. with 8.9% of shares outstanding. With 8.7% and 6.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Fidelity International Ltd and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 14 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of IGO
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 less than 1% of IGO Limited. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven’t picked up on. It’s a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own AU$15m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 39% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over IGO. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 11%, of the shares on issue. 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:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand IGO better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we’ve spotted 3 warning signs for IGO you should know about.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
