Retail investors in Kits Eyecare Ltd. (TSE:KITS) are its biggest bettors, and their bets paid off as stock gained 11% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Kits Eyecare by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 2 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Kits Eyecare Ltd. (TSE:KITS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 37% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. 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$36m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Kits Eyecare, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Kits Eyecare

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kits Eyecare?

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.

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

Kits Eyecare is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Ld Group Holdings Limited, with ownership of 33%. Roger Hardy is the second largest shareholder owning 21% of common stock, and Hardy Family Foundation, Endownment Arm holds about 5.3% of the company stock. Roger Hardy, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 53% stake.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Kits Eyecare

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Kits Eyecare Ltd.. Insiders own CA$80m worth of shares in the CA$357m company. 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

With a 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kits Eyecare. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 33%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Kits Eyecare better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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.