While institutions invested in FBR Limited (ASX:FBR) benefited from last week's 16% gain, retail investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• FBR's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 21 shareholders own 47% of the company
• 23% of FBR is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls FBR Limited (ASX:FBR), 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 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s AU$30m market cap gain, institutions too had a 23% share in those profits.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of FBR, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for FBR

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About FBR?

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.

We can see that FBR does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 FBR's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

FBR is not owned by hedge funds. Horsley Park Holdings Pty Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 9.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, M&G Investment Management Limited and Fidelity International Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Michael Pivac directly holds 1.5% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 21 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of FBR

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in FBR Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$18m worth of the AU$218m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 53% of FBR. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 16%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Take risks for example - FBR has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.