The considerable ownership by retail investors in Viva Energy Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A look at the shareholders of Viva Energy Group Limited (ASX:VEA) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors 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).
Private companies, on the other hand, account for 29% of the company's stockholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Viva Energy Group, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Viva Energy Group?
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.
Viva Energy Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in 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. 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 Viva Energy Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
ASX:VEA Earnings and Revenue Growth June 28th 2024
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Viva Energy Group. Viva Energy B.V. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.3% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Scott Wyatt is the owner of 0.5% of the company's shares.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 14 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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 Viva Energy Group
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.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Viva Energy Group Limited in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own AU$31m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 29%, of the shares on issue. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Viva Energy Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Viva Energy Group has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.
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.
