Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) is favoured by institutional owners who hold 73% of the company

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Agnico Eagle Mines' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 49% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insiders have been selling lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 73% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Agnico Eagle Mines, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Agnico Eagle Mines

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Agnico Eagle Mines?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Agnico Eagle Mines already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Agnico Eagle Mines' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Agnico Eagle Mines. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 7.3%. Van Eck Associates Corporation is the second largest shareholder owning 4.4% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 4.0% of the company stock.

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 studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Agnico Eagle Mines

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$55m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Agnico Eagle Mines. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

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

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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.