Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSE:AYA) surges 5.8%; retail investors who own 56% shares profited along with institutions

Key Insights

• Aya Gold & Silver's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 42% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (TSE:AYA) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 5.8% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 34% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Aya Gold & Silver.

Check out our latest analysis for Aya Gold & Silver

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aya Gold & Silver?

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.

We can see that Aya Gold & Silver does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Aya Gold & Silver's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Aya Gold & Silver. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Van Eck Associates Corporation with 9.7% of shares outstanding. Robert Taub is the second largest shareholder owning 7.6% of common stock, and Tidal Investments LLC holds about 2.7% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Aya Gold & Silver

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Aya Gold & Silver Inc.. Insiders own CA$161m worth of shares in the CA$1.6b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 56% of Aya Gold & Silver. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Aya Gold & Silver better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Aya Gold & Silver (1 can't be ignored!) 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.

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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.