Individual investors are Vulcan Energy Resources Limited's (ASX:VUL) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped AU$37m

Key Insights

• Vulcan Energy Resources' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in Vulcan Energy Resources is 23%

Every investor in Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (ASX:VUL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 48% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 23% came under pressure after market cap dropped to AU$391m last week,individual investors took the most losses.

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

View our latest analysis for Vulcan Energy Resources

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vulcan Energy Resources?

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.

Vulcan Energy Resources already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Vulcan Energy Resources' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Vulcan Energy Resources. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Francis Edward Wedin (who also holds the title of Top Key Executive) with 9.3% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. With 6.8% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Stellantis N.V. and Gavin Rezos are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Gavin Rezos is also a Vice Chairman, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder 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. 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 Vulcan Energy Resources

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Vulcan Energy Resources Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$391m, and insiders have AU$90m worth of shares in their own names. We 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-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 7.2%, of the Vulcan Energy Resources 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 6.7% of the Vulcan Energy Resources shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Vulcan Energy Resources better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Vulcan Energy Resources has 4 warning signs (and 2 which are a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

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.