Individual investors who hold 56% of Heliostar Metals Ltd. (CVE:HSTR) gained 24%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• Heliostar Metals' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 18 shareholders own 44% of the company
• Recent purchases by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Heliostar Metals Ltd. (CVE:HSTR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 24% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 27% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Heliostar Metals.

View our latest analysis for Heliostar Metals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Heliostar 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.

We can see that Heliostar Metals 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. 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 Heliostar Metals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Heliostar Metals. The company's largest shareholder is Eric Sprott, with ownership of 13%. Franklin Resources, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Euro Pacific Asset Management, LLC holds about 9.8% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Charles Funk, the CEO has 1.0% of the shares allocated to their name.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 18 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Heliostar Metals

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 Heliostar Metals Ltd.. Insiders own CA$30m worth of shares in the CA$194m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 56% of Heliostar Metals shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Heliostar Metals better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Heliostar Metals (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.