Insiders of Westshore Terminals Investment Corporation (TSE:WTE) have had a great week after last week's CA$73m gain and they haven't stopped buying

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Westshore Terminals Investment implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 2 shareholders own 57% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of Westshore Terminals Investment Corporation (TSE:WTE) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 46% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Having purchased shares recently, insiders must be glad after market cap hit CA$1.7b last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Westshore Terminals Investment.

Check out our latest analysis for Westshore Terminals Investment

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Westshore Terminals Investment?

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.

Westshore Terminals Investment 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Westshore Terminals Investment's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Westshore Terminals Investment. James Pattison is currently the company's largest shareholder with 46% of shares outstanding. RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.3% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 Westshore Terminals Investment

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Westshore Terminals Investment Corporation. Insiders own CA$795m worth of shares in the CA$1.7b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

With a 31% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Westshore Terminals Investment. 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.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Westshore Terminals Investment (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .

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.