What Percentage Of Dewhurst plc (LON:DWHT) Shares Do Insiders Own?

A look at the shareholders of Dewhurst plc (LON:DWHT) can tell us which group is most powerful. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

Dewhurst is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of UK£89m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Dewhurst.

View our latest analysis for Dewhurst

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dewhurst?

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 Dewhurst. 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. 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 Dewhurst's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Dewhurst is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Valerie Dewhurst is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. With 8.5% and 7.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Jarvis Securities plc, Asset Management Arm and Richard Dewhurst are the second and third largest shareholders. Richard Dewhurst, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. Additionally, the company's CEO David Dewhurst directly holds 6.1% of the total shares outstanding.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Dewhurst

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Dewhurst plc. Insiders have a UK£34m stake in this UK£89m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over Dewhurst. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Dewhurst better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Dewhurst (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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. 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.
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