Acusensus Limited's (ASX:ACE) market cap touched AU$165m last week, benefiting both individual investors who own 43% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Acusensus' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders have been selling lately

A look at the shareholders of Acusensus Limited (ASX:ACE) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 11% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 24% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Acusensus

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Acusensus?

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.

Acusensus 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 Acusensus' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Acusensus. Our data shows that J. B. Advani And Company Private Limited is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 7.3% of the stock. Alexander Jannink, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Acusensus

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Acusensus Limited. It has a market capitalization of just AU$165m, and insiders have AU$25m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 43% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Acusensus. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 17%, of the Acusensus 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Acusensus better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Acusensus , 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.