Private companies own 35% of High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSE:HLF) shares but retail investors control 55% of the company
Key Insights
Significant control over High Liner Foods by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
To get a sense of who is truly in control of High Liner Foods Incorporated (TSE:HLF), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 55% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Meanwhile, private companies make up 35% of the company’s shareholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of High Liner Foods, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for High Liner Foods
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About High Liner Foods?
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.
We can see that High Liner Foods does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 High Liner Foods, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in High Liner Foods. Thornridge Holdings Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 35% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 2.0% and 1.9% of the stock.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of High Liner Foods
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. 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 see that insiders own shares in High Liner Foods Incorporated. It has a market capitalization of just CA$394m, and insiders have CA$11m worth of shares, in their own names. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 55% stake in High Liner Foods, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 35%, of the shares on issue. 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:
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. Be aware that High Liner Foods is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...
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.
