Service Stream Limited's (ASX:SSM) top owners are retail investors with 58% stake, while 36% is held by institutions
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by retail investors in Service Stream indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
41% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
A look at the shareholders of Service Stream Limited (ASX:SSM) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 58% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And institutions on the other hand have a 36% ownership in the company. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Service Stream.
Check out our latest analysis for Service Stream
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Service Stream?
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 Service Stream 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 Service Stream, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Service Stream. The company's largest shareholder is Orbis Investment Management Limited, with ownership of 18%. TIGA Trading Pty Ltd, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 5.4% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 3.6% of the company stock.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Service Stream
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.
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.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Service Stream Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$769m, and insiders have AU$44m 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 58% of Service Stream shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Service Stream has 2 warning signs we think 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.
