Ascent Industries Co.'s (NASDAQ:ACNT) top owners are individual investors with 45% stake, while 22% is held by institutions
Key Insights
Ascent Industries' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
A total of 18 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
Every investor in Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 45% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And institutions on the other hand have a 22% 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 delve deeper into each type of owner of Ascent Industries, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Ascent Industries
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ascent Industries?
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.
We can see that Ascent Industries does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Ascent Industries' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
It would appear that 18% of Ascent Industries 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. The company's largest shareholder is Privet Fund Management, LLC, with ownership of 18%. With 7.7% and 4.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Union Partners I LLC and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Christopher Hutter, the CEO has 2.1% of the shares allocated to their name.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 18 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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. 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 Ascent Industries
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.
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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Ascent Industries Co.. In their own names, insiders own US$8.5m worth of stock in the US$116m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ascent Industries. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 7.7% stake in Ascent Industries. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ascent Industries better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Ascent Industries .
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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