If you want to know who really controls Global Energy Ventures Ltd (ASX:GEV), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said ‘Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.’

With a market capitalization of AU$62m, Global Energy Ventures is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about GEV.

See our latest analysis for Global Energy Ventures

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Global Energy Ventures?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Global Energy Ventures already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 9.9% of 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. 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 Global Energy Ventures’s historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there’s always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in Global Energy Ventures. Our information suggests that there isn’t any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Global Energy Ventures

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. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Global Energy Ventures Ltd. It has a market capitalization of just AU$62m, and insiders have AU$15m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.