Private companies account for 55% of George Weston Limited's (TSE:WN) ownership, while individual investors account for 27%

Key Insights

• George Weston's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The largest shareholder of the company is Wittington Investments, Limited with a 55% stake
• Institutional ownership in George Weston is 13%

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Every investor in George Weston Limited (TSE:WN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 55% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 27% of the company's stockholders.

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

See our latest analysis for George Weston

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About George Weston?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in George Weston. The company's largest shareholder is Wittington Investments, Limited, with ownership of 55%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 3.7% and 3.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Galen Weston, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of George Weston

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in George Weston Limited. Insiders own CA$1.4b worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows a good alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 27% 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 55%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private 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 risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for George Weston 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.