Aura Minerals Inc.'s (TSE:ORA) largest shareholders are private companies who were rewarded as market cap surged CA$99m last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Aura Minerals indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Bergnol Holding Ltd with a 55% stake
• Insiders have sold recently

Every investor in Aura Minerals Inc. (TSE:ORA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 55% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 8.2% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Aura Minerals.

Check out our latest analysis for Aura Minerals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aura Minerals?

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 Aura Minerals does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Aura Minerals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Aura Minerals is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Bergnol Holding Ltd, with ownership of 55%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 5.2% and 3.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda. and Invesco Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 Aura Minerals

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Aura Minerals Inc.. In their own names, insiders own CA$42m worth of stock in the CA$1.3b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Aura Minerals. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 55%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Aura Minerals has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.