Public companies invested in Norte Grande S.A. (SNSE:NORTEGRAN) copped the brunt of last week's CL$288b market cap decline

Key Insights

• Significant control over Norte Grande by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• Tianqi Lithium Corporation owns 81% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Norte Grande S.A. (SNSE:NORTEGRAN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 82% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As market cap fell to CL$1.4t last week, public companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

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

View our latest analysis for Norte Grande

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Norte Grande?

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.

Norte Grande already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Norte Grande, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Norte Grande is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Tianqi Lithium Corporation is the largest shareholder with 81% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 4.6% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Compass Consorcio Asset Management and Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Norte Grande

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 10% stake in Norte Grande. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 82% of the Norte Grande shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Norte Grande (1 doesn't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.