Institutions along with retail investors who hold considerable shares inPeel Hunt Limited (LON:PEEL) come under pressure; lose 13% of holdings value

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Peel Hunt indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 20% of Peel Hunt is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Peel Hunt Limited (LON:PEEL) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions, who own 22% shares weren’t spared from last week’s UK£21m market cap drop, retail 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 Peel Hunt.

Check out our latest analysis for Peel Hunt

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Peel Hunt?

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.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Peel Hunt. Darren Carter is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 6.6% and 4.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Steven Fine, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Peel Hunt

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Peel Hunt Limited. Insiders own UK£29m worth of shares in the UK£145m company. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in Peel Hunt. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 6.6%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.5%, of the company's shares. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of 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.