Every investor in Corby Spirit and Wine Limited (TSE:CSW.A) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

Corby Spirit and Wine is a smaller company with a market capitalization of CA$480m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Corby Spirit and Wine.

View our latest analysis for Corby Spirit and Wine

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Corby Spirit and Wine?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Corby Spirit and Wine. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Corby Spirit and Wine, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Corby Spirit and Wine. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Pernod Ricard SA with 44% of shares outstanding. With 4.2% and 2.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, CI Global Asset Management and Franklin Resources, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.