Stella-Jones Inc.'s (TSE:SJ) institutional investors lost 3.1% over the past week but have profited from longer-term gains
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies Stella-Jones' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
The top 25 shareholders own 48% of the company
Recent sales by insiders
If you want to know who really controls Stella-Jones Inc. (TSE:SJ), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 53% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 3.1% last week. However, the 62% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Stella-Jones.
View our latest analysis for Stella-Jones
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Stella-Jones?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
We can see that Stella-Jones 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 Stella-Jones' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Stella-Jones is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, with ownership of 13%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.8% by the third-largest shareholder.
Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.
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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Stella-Jones
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
Our information suggests that Stella-Jones Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CA$7.8m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 47% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Stella-Jones. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Stella-Jones (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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.
