To get a sense of who is truly in control of Ascot Resources Ltd. (TSE:AOT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 57% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CA$339m market cap following a 10% gain in the stock.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ascot Resources, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ascot Resources?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Ascot Resources. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Ascot Resources' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
TSX:AOT Earnings and Revenue Growth July 28th 2024
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ascot Resources. Our data shows that Ccori Apu S.A.C. is the largest shareholder with 19% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.3% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.3% by the third-largest shareholder.
Our studies suggest that the top 20 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 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Ascot Resources
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.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Ascot Resources Ltd. in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It appears that the board holds about CA$741k worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of CA$339m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 57% of Ascot Resources. 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 17%, of the Ascot Resources 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Ascot Resources (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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.
