Recent uptick might appease SilverCrest Metals Inc. (TSE:SIL) institutional owners after losing 3.0% over the past year

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in SilverCrest Metals implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls SilverCrest Metals Inc. (TSE:SIL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

After a year of 3.0% losses, last week’s 16% gain would be welcomed by institutional investors as a likely sign that returns might start trending higher.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SilverCrest Metals.

See our latest analysis for SilverCrest Metals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SilverCrest Metals?

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.

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

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SilverCrest Metals. Van Eck Associates Corporation is currently the company's largest shareholder with 10% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Nathan Fier is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 SilverCrest Metals

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

We can see that insiders own shares in SilverCrest Metals Inc.. In their own names, insiders own CA$28m 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 44% stake in SilverCrest Metals. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for SilverCrest Metals (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.