While institutions invested in GTL Infrastructure Limited (NSE:GTLINFRA) benefited from last week's 10% gain, retail investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in GTL Infrastructure indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 43% of the business is held by the top 23 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in GTL Infrastructure is 39%

If you want to know who really controls GTL Infrastructure Limited (NSE:GTLINFRA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 10% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 39% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

See our latest analysis for GTL Infrastructure

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GTL Infrastructure?

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 GTL Infrastructure does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 GTL Infrastructure's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in GTL Infrastructure. Union Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. Central Bank of India, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 7.3% of common stock, and Bank of Baroda, Asset Management Arm holds about 5.7% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 23 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of GTL Infrastructure

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of GTL Infrastructure Limited. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It appears that the board holds about ₹17m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of ₹25b. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in GTL Infrastructure, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.0%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand GTL Infrastructure better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for GTL Infrastructure that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.