Institutions own 29% of Sylvania Platinum Limited (LON:SLP) shares but individual investors control 60% of the company
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by individual investors in Sylvania Platinum indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
The top 22 shareholders own 40% of the company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sylvania Platinum Limited (LON:SLP), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 60% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Meanwhile, institutions make up 29% of the company’s shareholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Sylvania Platinum.
View our latest analysis for Sylvania Platinum
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sylvania Platinum?
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 Sylvania Platinum. 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 Sylvania Platinum's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sylvania Platinum. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Africa Asia Capital Limited with 10% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 4.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.4% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Johannes Prinsloo is the owner of 0.5% of the company's shares.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 22 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.
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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.
Insider Ownership Of Sylvania Platinum
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
We can see that insiders own shares in Sylvania Platinum Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own UK£2.5m worth of the UK£178m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 60% of Sylvania Platinum. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 10%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Sylvania Platinum better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Sylvania Platinum that you should be aware of.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
