With 80% ownership in ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies ESAB's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
A total of 10 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 80% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 4.2% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 66%.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of ESAB.
View our latest analysis for ESAB
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ESAB?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
ESAB 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 ESAB, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in ESAB. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 10% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.9% by the third-largest shareholder.
We did some more digging and found that 10 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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 ESAB
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in ESAB Corporation. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$371m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ESAB. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand ESAB better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for ESAB you should know about.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
