With 62% ownership in Pantheon Resources Plc (LON:PANR), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Pantheon Resources implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 13 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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If you want to know who really controls Pantheon Resources Plc (LON:PANR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 62% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Last week’s 14% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. One-year return to shareholders is currently 61% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

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

Check out 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.

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

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Pantheon Resources is not owned by hedge funds. Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.2% of shares outstanding. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.4% of common stock, and UBS Asset Management AG holds about 5.7% of the company stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 13 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Pantheon Resources Plc. In their own names, insiders own UK£15m worth of stock in the UK£371m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Pantheon Resources. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 concerning) .

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.