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Yahoo Finance Plus Genasys Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GNSS) top owners are retail investors with 43% stake, while 37% is held by institutions
Key Insights
Significant control over Genasys by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
The top 12 shareholders own 50% of the company
A look at the shareholders of Genasys Inc. (NASDAQ:GNSS) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. 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 37% ownership in the company. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Genasys.
View our latest analysis for Genasys
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Genasys?
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 Genasys. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Genasys' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
It would appear that 18% of Genasys shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Integrity Wealth Advisors, LLC, Asset Management Arm with 16% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 12% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.6% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Richard Danforth directly holds 0.5% of the total shares outstanding.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Genasys
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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 see that insiders own shares in Genasys Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$2.2m worth of the US$100m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 43% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.
I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
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.
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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.
