With 38% ownership in Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (NASDAQ:KEQU), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Kewaunee Scientific's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 11 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (NASDAQ:KEQU), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 38% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 10% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 121%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Kewaunee Scientific.

Check out our latest analysis for Kewaunee Scientific

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kewaunee Scientific?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kewaunee Scientific. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Kewaunee Scientific'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 Kewaunee Scientific. Our data shows that Northern Trust Global Investments is the largest shareholder with 10% of shares outstanding. Anita Zucker is the second largest shareholder owning 7.7% of common stock, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP holds about 6.5% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Thomas Hull, the CEO has 1.4% of the shares allocated to their name.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 11 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Kewaunee Scientific

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Kewaunee Scientific Corporation. Insiders own US$48m worth of shares in the US$185m company. 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 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kewaunee Scientific. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Kewaunee Scientific 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.