What Kind Of Shareholders Hold The Majority In Imperial Metals Corporation's (TSE:III) Shares?

If you want to know who really controls Imperial Metals Corporation (TSE:III), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

With a market capitalization of CA$591m, Imperial Metals is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Imperial Metals.

View our latest analysis for Imperial Metals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Imperial Metals?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Imperial Metals. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. 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.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 11% of Imperial Metals. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Norman Edwards is currently the company's largest shareholder with 40% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 2.4% of the stock. Larry G. Moeller, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Lead Director. Furthermore, CEO J. Kynoch is the owner of 1.0% of the company's shares.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Imperial Metals

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Imperial Metals Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just CA$591m, and insiders have CA$257m worth of shares in their own names. 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

With a 39% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Imperial Metals. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Imperial Metals you should know about.

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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