Institutions' substantial holdings in Capricorn Metals implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX:CMM), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 3.3% last week. However, the 84% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. But they would probably be wary of future losses.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Capricorn Metals, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Capricorn Metals?
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.
Capricorn Metals 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. 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 Capricorn Metals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
ASX:CMM Earnings and Revenue Growth February 13th 2025
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Capricorn Metals. The company's largest shareholder is Van Eck Associates Corporation, with ownership of 8.4%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.2% and 6.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Kim Massey is the owner of 0.5% of the company's shares.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Capricorn Metals
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Capricorn Metals Ltd. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around AU$273m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Capricorn Metals. 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
It seems that Private Companies own 3.6%, of the Capricorn Metals stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
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.
