GURU Organic Energy Corp. (TSE:GURU) insiders have had a fantastic week as stock increased 91%, and they haven't stopped buying

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over GURU Organic Energy implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• Recent purchases by insiders

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of GURU Organic Energy Corp. (TSE:GURU), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Having purchased shares recently, insiders must be glad after market cap hit CA$147m last week.

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

View our latest analysis for GURU Organic Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GURU Organic Energy?

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.

Less than 5% of GURU Organic Energy is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

GURU Organic Energy is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Eric Graveline is the largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 22% and 6.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Two of the top three shareholders happen to be Top Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively. That is, insiders feature higher up in the heirarchy of the company's top shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 53% stake.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of GURU Organic Energy

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 own more than half of GURU Organic Energy Corp.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own CA$80m worth of shares in the CA$147m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 41% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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.