Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.'s (TSE:INE) market cap dropped CA$108m last week; individual investors who hold 48% were hit as were institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Innergex Renewable Energy indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 48% of the company
• 31% of Innergex Renewable Energy is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (TSE:INE), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 48% stake, individual 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).

While institutions, who own 31% shares weren’t spared from last week’s CA$108m market cap drop, individual investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

Check out our latest analysis for Innergex Renewable Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Innergex Renewable Energy?

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.

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

Innergex Renewable Energy is not owned by hedge funds. Hydro-Québec is currently the company's largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.6% and 3.2% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Michel Letellier is the owner of 0.5% of the company's shares.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Innergex Renewable Energy

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.

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 information suggests that Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CA$14m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Innergex Renewable Energy. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 20%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Innergex Renewable Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Innergex Renewable Energy (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

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.