To get a sense of who is truly in control of MS INTERNATIONAL plc (LON:MSI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 41% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And individual insiders on the other hand have a 41% ownership in the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about MS INTERNATIONAL.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MS INTERNATIONAL?
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.
MS INTERNATIONAL 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. 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 MS INTERNATIONAL's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
AIM:MSI Earnings and Revenue Growth September 27th 2024
Hedge funds don't have many shares in MS INTERNATIONAL. Our data suggests that Michael Bell, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 18%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. With 11% and 11% of the shares outstanding respectively, David Pyle and Michael O'Connell are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Michael O'Connell is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of MS INTERNATIONAL
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of MS INTERNATIONAL plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£162m, and insiders have UK£67m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over MS INTERNATIONAL. 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.
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.
