Great week for Alithya Group Inc. (TSE:ALYA) institutional investors after losing 23% over the previous year

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Alithya Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 8 shareholders
• Recent purchases by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Alithya Group Inc. (TSE:ALYA) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 38% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Last week's CA$22m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 23% losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Alithya Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alithya Group?

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.

Alithya Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Alithya Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Alithya Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Les Placements Peladeau Inc. with 10% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 9.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, SSQ, Life Insurance Company Inc - Asset Management Arm and Investissement Quebec, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Paul Raymond, the CEO has 0.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Alithya Group

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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Alithya Group Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$181m, and insiders have CA$32m worth of shares in their own names. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in Alithya Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 12%, of the Alithya Group stock. 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 Alithya Group better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.