Kelt Exploration Ltd.'s (TSE:KEL) market cap surged CA$75m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Kelt Exploration's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 50% of the business is held by the top 23 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

If you want to know who really controls Kelt Exploration Ltd. (TSE:KEL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 49% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CA$75m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Kelt Exploration.

View our latest analysis for Kelt Exploration

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kelt Exploration?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kelt Exploration. 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 Kelt Exploration's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 24% of Kelt Exploration. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Our data shows that GMT Capital Corp. is the largest shareholder with 24% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 3.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, David Wilson and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are the second and third largest shareholders. David Wilson, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 23 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 Kelt Exploration

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 Kelt Exploration Ltd.. Insiders have a CA$216m stake in this CA$1.2b 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 49% stake in Kelt Exploration. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Kelt Exploration you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.