Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Limoneira's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 10 shareholders own 51% of the company
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 Limoneira Company (NASDAQ:LMNR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 59% 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.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Limoneira.
NasdaqGS:LMNR Ownership Breakdown February 3rd 2025
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Limoneira?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Limoneira. 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 Limoneira, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NasdaqGS:LMNR Earnings and Revenue Growth February 3rd 2025
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Limoneira is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd., with ownership of 18%. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.5% of common stock, and Peter Nolan holds about 6.1% of the company stock. Peter Nolan, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, CEO Harold Edwards is the owner of 1.3% of the company's shares.
We did some more digging and found that 10 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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.
Insider Ownership Of Limoneira
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 report that insiders do own shares in Limoneira Company. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$37m worth of the US$417m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Limoneira. 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Limoneira better, we need to consider many other factors.
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.
