Institutions own 48% of Gibson Energy Inc. (TSE:GEI) shares but individual investors control 52% of the company

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Gibson Energy indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 44% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

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Every investor in Gibson Energy Inc. (TSE:GEI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 52% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, institutions make up 48% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.

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

View our latest analysis for Gibson Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Gibson Energy?

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.

We can see that Gibson Energy does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Gibson Energy's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Gibson Energy is not owned by hedge funds. M&G Investment Management Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 17% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 4.0% and 3.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Gibson Energy

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Gibson Energy Inc. in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CA$13m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 52% of Gibson Energy. 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 3 warning signs for Gibson Energy (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company .

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.