While institutions invested in Pantheon Resources Plc (LON:PANR) benefited from last week's 14% gain, individual investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Pantheon Resources by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 43% of the company
• Institutions own 39% of Pantheon Resources

A look at the shareholders of Pantheon Resources Plc (LON:PANR) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s UK£25m market cap gain, institutions too had a 39% share in those profits.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Pantheon Resources.

View our latest analysis for Pantheon Resources

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Pantheon Resources?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Pantheon Resources. 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. 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 Pantheon Resources, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Pantheon Resources is not owned by hedge funds. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 7.5% of shares outstanding. Michael Spencer is the second largest shareholder owning 5.0% of common stock, and M. D. Barnard & Co. Ltd., Asset Management Arm holds about 4.9% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Pantheon Resources

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Pantheon Resources Plc. In their own names, insiders own UK£18m worth of stock in the UK£203m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 52% of Pantheon Resources shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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 5 warning signs we've spotted with Pantheon Resources (including 2 which are potentially serious) .

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.