If you want to know who really controls Network Media Group Inc. (CVE:NTE), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, ‘Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.
With a market capitalization of CA$16m, Network Media Group is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it’s seems that institutions are not on the share registry. Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about Network Media Group.
See our latest analysis for Network Media Group
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Network Media Group?
Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it’s less common to see large companies without them.
There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don’t attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Network Media Group might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.
Network Media Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Derik Murray with 11% of shares outstanding. The second largest shareholder with 5.2%, is Paul Gertz, followed by Gregory Zeschuk, with an ownership of 4.2%. They also hold the titles of President and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively. This once again signifies considerable insider ownership amongst the company’s top shareholders.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 6 shareholders collectively hold less than 50% of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no one share holder has a majority.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock’s expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Our information suggests that there isn’t any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.
Insider Ownership Of Network Media Group
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Network Media Group Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$16m, and insiders have CA$3.5m worth of shares in their own names. 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 79% of Network Media Group. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Network Media Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we’ve discovered 4 warning signs for Network Media Group (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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.
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.
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