With 40% stake, Hawks Acquisition Corp (NYSE:HWKZ) seems to have captured hedge funds investors' interest
If you want to know who really controls Hawks Acquisition Corp (NYSE:HWKZ), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 40% to be precise, is hedge funds. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Because hedge funds owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hawks Acquisition.
See our latest analysis for Hawks Acquisition
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hawks Acquisition?
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 Hawks Acquisition. 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. 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 Hawks Acquisition's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
It would appear that 40% of Hawks Acquisition shares are controlled by hedge funds. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. With a 19% stake, CEO John Hawks is the largest shareholder. With 7.6% and 6.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Saba Capital Management, L.P. and 683 Capital Management, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.
We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
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 Hawks Acquisition
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Hawks Acquisition Corp. Insiders have a US$56m stake in this US$282m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 11% stake in Hawks Acquisition. 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:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 5 warning signs for Hawks Acquisition (4 are a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.
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.
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