Propel Holdings Inc.'s (TSE:PRL) 14% gain last week benefited both individual investors who own 54% as well as insiders

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Propel Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 46% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of Propel Holdings Inc. (TSE:PRL) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s CA$101m market cap gain, insiders too had a 43% share in those profits.

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

View our latest analysis for Propel Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Propel Holdings?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Propel Holdings, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Propel Holdings. Michael Stein is currently the company's largest shareholder with 16% of shares outstanding. Clive Kinross is the second largest shareholder owning 15% of common stock, and Gary Edelstein holds about 3.2% of the company stock. Clive Kinross, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Propel Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Propel Holdings Inc.. Insiders have a CA$309m stake in this CA$722m business. 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

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Propel Holdings 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.

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. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Propel Holdings (2 are a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.