The considerable ownership by retail investors in Aya Gold & Silver indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
39% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSE:AYA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched CA$1.6b last week, while institutions who own 33% also benefitted.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Aya Gold & Silver.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aya Gold & Silver?
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.
We can see that Aya Gold & Silver does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Aya Gold & Silver's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
TSX:AYA Earnings and Revenue Growth February 27th 2025
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Aya Gold & Silver. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Van Eck Associates Corporation with 9.9% of shares outstanding. With 7.5% and 2.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Robert Taub and Invesco Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.
Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.
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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Aya Gold & Silver
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.
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 Aya Gold & Silver Inc.. Insiders own CA$158m worth of shares in the CA$1.6b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in Aya Gold & Silver, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Aya Gold & Silver (of which 1 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.
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.
