Significant control over Lycopodium by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Lycopodium Limited (ASX:LYL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And individual insiders on the other hand have a 34% ownership in the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Lycopodium.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Lycopodium?
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.
Since institutions own only a small portion of Lycopodium, 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. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.
ASX:LYL Earnings and Revenue Growth August 12th 2024
It looks like hedge funds own 6.4% of Lycopodium shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Our data shows that Michael Caratti is the largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.9% and 6.4% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Peter De Leo directly holds 2.3% of the total shares outstanding.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 14 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of Lycopodium
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.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Lycopodium Limited. Insiders own AU$185m worth of shares in the AU$541m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 6.9% stake in Lycopodium. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
