Dolly Varden Silver Corporation's (CVE:DV) biggest owners are retail investors who got richer after stock soared 11% last week

Key Insights

• Dolly Varden Silver's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Recent purchases by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Dolly Varden Silver Corporation (CVE:DV), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CA$37m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Dolly Varden Silver.

Check out our latest analysis for Dolly Varden Silver

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dolly Varden Silver?

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.

Dolly Varden Silver already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Dolly Varden Silver's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Dolly Varden Silver is not owned by hedge funds. Fury Gold Mines Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 19% of shares outstanding. Hecla Mining Company is the second largest shareholder owning 15% of common stock, and Eric Sprott holds about 10% of the company stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Dolly Varden Silver

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Dolly Varden Silver Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just CA$239m, and insiders have CA$24m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 47% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 34% of the Dolly Varden Silver shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Dolly Varden Silver better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Dolly Varden Silver (2 are potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.