Every investor in Ensign Energy Services Inc. (TSE:ESI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 40% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, individual insiders make up 27% of the company’s shareholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Ensign Energy Services.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ensign Energy Services?
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.
Ensign Energy Services already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Ensign Energy Services' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
TSX:ESI Earnings and Revenue Growth November 18th 2024
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Ensign Energy Services. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Norman Edwards with 23% of shares outstanding. Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 17% of common stock, and Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Ltd. holds about 12% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Robert Geddes, the CEO has 1.0% of the shares allocated to their name.
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 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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Ensign Energy Services
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Ensign Energy Services Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$551m, and insiders have CA$151m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 40% 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.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 17% of the Ensign Energy Services shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this freereport on analyst forecasts.
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.
