Stock Analysis

What Type Of Shareholders Make Up Equals Group plc's (LON:EQLS) Share Registry?

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AIM:EQLS
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The big shareholder groups in Equals Group plc (LON:EQLS) have power over the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Warren Buffett said that he likes "a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people." So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

With a market capitalization of UK£128m, Equals Group is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Equals Group.

View our latest analysis for Equals Group

ownership-breakdown
AIM:EQLS Ownership Breakdown February 23rd 2022

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Equals Group?

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.

We can see that Equals Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Equals Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
AIM:EQLS Earnings and Revenue Growth February 23rd 2022

It would appear that 13% of Equals Group shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Pembar Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 14% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 13% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.9% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Ian Alexander Strafford-Taylor, the CEO has 1.2% of the shares allocated to their name.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 Equals Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Equals Group plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£128m, and insiders have UK£17m worth of shares in their own names. 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 26% stake in Equals 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 14%, of the Equals Group stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Equals Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Equals Group you should know about.

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.

Valuation is complex, but we're helping make it simple.

Find out whether Equals Group is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

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About AIM:EQLS

Equals Group

Equals Group plc, through its subsidiaries, provides payment processing and banking services to private clients and corporations through prepaid currency cards, travel cash, international money transfers, and current accounts in the United Kingdom.

Flawless balance sheet with reasonable growth potential.