Individual investors are Humm Group Limited's (ASX:HUM) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped AU$25m

Key Insights

• Significant control over Humm Group by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 10 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders have bought recently

Every investor in Humm Group Limited (ASX:HUM) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 10% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 30% stock also took a hit.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Humm Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Humm Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Humm Group?

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 Humm Group. 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 Humm Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Humm Group. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Humm Group's case, its Top Key Executive, Andrew Abercrombie, is the largest shareholder, holding 24% of shares outstanding. With 5.4% and 5.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, John Wylie and Renaissance Smaller Companies Pty Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders.

We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Humm Group

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Humm Group Limited. Insiders have a AU$65m stake in this AU$217m business. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 44% stake in Humm Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.8%, of the Humm Group stock. 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:

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Humm Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.