retail investors who own 56% along with institutions invested in Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• Wesdome Gold Mines' 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
• 44% of Wesdome Gold Mines is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 56% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched CA$1.7b last week, while institutions who own 44% also benefitted.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Wesdome Gold Mines, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Wesdome Gold Mines

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wesdome Gold Mines?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Wesdome Gold Mines already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Wesdome Gold Mines, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Wesdome Gold Mines. Our data shows that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 9.8% of shares outstanding. Van Eck Associates Corporation is the second largest shareholder owning 9.7% of common stock, and 1832 Asset Management L.P. holds about 2.4% 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 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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Wesdome Gold Mines

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.

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 Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CA$3.3m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 56% stake in Wesdome Gold Mines, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. 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:

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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com