Institutional investors in Bytes Technology Group plc (LON:BYIT) see UK£87m decrease in market cap last week, although long-term gains have benefitted them.
Key Insights
Institutions' substantial holdings in Bytes Technology Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
51% of the business is held by the top 12 shareholders
Every investor in Bytes Technology Group plc (LON:BYIT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. 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).
Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by UK£87m last week. However, the 13% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Bytes Technology Group.
View our latest analysis for Bytes Technology Group
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bytes Technology Group?
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 Bytes Technology Group 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. 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 Bytes Technology Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bytes Technology Group. Biltron (Pty) Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 7.6% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.1% and 5.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Neil Murphy is the owner of 1.2% of the company's shares.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Bytes Technology Group
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.
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Bytes Technology Group plc. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around UK£15m 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
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 7.7%, of the Bytes Technology Group stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Bytes Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Bytes Technology Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
