Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima's (NYSE:LOMA) market cap dropped US$91m last week; individual investors who hold 52% were hit as were institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 52% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Participações Morro Vermelho S.A.)
• Institutions own 29% of Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:LOMA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is private companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While institutions, who own 29% shares weren’t spared from last week’s US$91m market cap drop, private companies as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima?

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 Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima 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. 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 Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Participações Morro Vermelho S.A., with ownership of 52%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. Capital Research and Management Company is the second largest shareholder owning 6.4% of common stock, and Argentine Social Security Administration holds about 5.3% of the company stock.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 52%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 5.2% of the Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.