If you want to know who really controls Sonora Gold & Silver Corp. (CVE:SOC), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. 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.
With a market capitalization of CA$2.8m, Sonora Gold & Silver is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions don’t own shares in the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Sonora Gold & Silver.
See our latest analysis for Sonora Gold & Silver
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sonora Gold & Silver?
Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it’s unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.
There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Sonora Gold & Silver, for yourself, below.
Sonora Gold & Silver is not owned by hedge funds. Jens Biertumpel is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. Kenneth Churchill is the second largest shareholder with 3.1% of common stock, followed by Robert Dinning, holding 0.6% of the stock. Note that they are also Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, meaning that the company’s top shareholders are insiders.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 5 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. As far I can tell there isn’t analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Sonora Gold & Silver
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.
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.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Sonora Gold & Silver Corp.. Insiders have a CA$431k stake in this CA$2.8m business. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 85% stake in SOC, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. 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:
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. Take risks, for example – Sonora Gold & Silver has 4 warning signs (and 3 which are a bit concerning) we think you should know about.
If you would prefer check out another company — one with potentially superior financials — then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.
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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