Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited's (NZSE:CHI) largest shareholders are individual investors who were rewarded as market cap surged NZ$57m last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Channel Infrastructure NZ by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have been selling lately

Every investor in Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited (NZSE:CHI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 45% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, individual investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 10% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Channel Infrastructure NZ.

Check out our latest analysis for Channel Infrastructure NZ

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Channel Infrastructure NZ?

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 Channel Infrastructure NZ 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. 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 Channel Infrastructure NZ, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Channel Infrastructure NZ. The company's largest shareholder is Exxon Mobil Corporation, with ownership of 14%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 13% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Channel Infrastructure NZ

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

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited. It has a market capitalization of just NZ$612m, and insiders have NZ$18m worth of shares, in their own names. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 45% stake in Channel Infrastructure NZ. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 35% of Channel Infrastructure NZ stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Channel Infrastructure NZ (including 2 which are concerning) .

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.