Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc's (LON:BKS) high institutional ownership speaks for itself as stock continues to impress, up 16% over last week

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Beeks Financial Cloud Group's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 55% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Beeks Financial Cloud Group is 37%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc (LON:BKS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 49% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained UK£22m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 131% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Beeks Financial Cloud Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Beeks Financial Cloud Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Beeks Financial Cloud Group?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Beeks Financial Cloud Group. 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 Beeks Financial Cloud Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Beeks Financial Cloud Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Gordon McArthur with 37% of shares outstanding. Canaccord Genuity Asset Management Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Artemis Investment Management LLP holds about 6.3% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Beeks Financial Cloud Group

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£158m, and insiders have UK£59m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Beeks Financial Cloud Group. 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 Beeks Financial Cloud Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Beeks Financial Cloud Group .

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.