Centaurus Metals Limited's (ASX:CTM) biggest owners are individual investors who got richer after stock soared 14% last week

Key Insights

• Centaurus Metals' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 23 investors have a majority stake in the company with 47% ownership
• Institutions own 14% of Centaurus Metals

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A look at the shareholders of Centaurus Metals Limited (ASX:CTM) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 53% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, individual investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by AU$28m last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Centaurus Metals.

View our latest analysis for Centaurus Metals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Centaurus Metals?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Centaurus Metals. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Centaurus Metals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Centaurus Metals. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Mccusker Holdings Pty. Ltd. with 12% of shares outstanding. Lujeta Pty Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.9% of common stock, and Regal Partners Limited holds about 4.7% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Darren Gordon directly holds 1.4% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 23 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Centaurus Metals

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Centaurus Metals Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$236m, and insiders have AU$14m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 53% of Centaurus Metals shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 27%, of the Centaurus Metals stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Centaurus Metals that you should be aware of.

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.