What Type Of Shareholder Owns Emerald Resources NL's (ASX:EMR)?

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If you want to know who really controls Emerald Resources NL (ASX:EMR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.'

Emerald Resources is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of AU$122m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions don't own many shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about EMR.

See our latest analysis for Emerald Resources

ASX:EMR Ownership Summary, April 19th 2019
ASX:EMR Ownership Summary, April 19th 2019

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Emerald Resources?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to fund under management, so the institition does not bother to look closely at the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Emerald Resources's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

ASX:EMR Income Statement, April 19th 2019
ASX:EMR Income Statement, April 19th 2019

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Emerald Resources. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Emerald Resources

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Emerald Resources NL. Insiders own AU$46m worth of shares in the AU$122m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 55% of Emerald Resources . With this size 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 decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.3%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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