While institutions own 23% of PHX Minerals Inc. (NYSE:PHX), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 38% ownership
Key Insights
Significant control over PHX Minerals by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
The top 13 shareholders own 51% of the company
If you want to know who really controls PHX Minerals Inc. (NYSE:PHX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 38% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 23% of the company's stockholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of PHX Minerals, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for PHX Minerals
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About PHX Minerals?
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 PHX Minerals. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 PHX Minerals' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
It looks like hedge funds own 14% of PHX Minerals shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. The company's largest shareholder is Edenbrook Capital, Llc, with ownership of 14%. Stronghold Resource Partners, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 9.7% of common stock, and Robert Hefner holds about 8.7% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Chad Stephens is the owner of 2.7% of the company's shares.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of PHX Minerals
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. 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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of PHX Minerals Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$103m, and insiders have US$15m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over PHX Minerals. 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.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 9.7% stake in PHX Minerals. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that PHX Minerals is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are significant...
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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