retail investors who own 47% along with institutions invested in Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:PESI) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Key Insights

• Perma-Fix Environmental Services' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 48% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

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If you want to know who really controls Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:PESI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s US$21m market cap gain, institutions too had a 46% share in those profits.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Perma-Fix Environmental Services.

View our latest analysis for Perma-Fix Environmental Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Perma-Fix Environmental Services?

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.

Perma-Fix Environmental Services 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 Perma-Fix Environmental Services' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Perma-Fix Environmental Services. Our data shows that Schelhammer Capital Bank AG is the largest shareholder with 9.5% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.0% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Mark Duff is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Perma-Fix Environmental Services

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. 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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$14m worth of the US$194m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 47% stake in Perma-Fix Environmental Services. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Perma-Fix Environmental Services better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Perma-Fix Environmental Services that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.