Insiders the biggest winners as Montauk Renewables, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MNTK) market cap rises to US$642m

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Montauk Renewables' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The top 2 shareholders own 55% of the company
• 32% of Montauk Renewables is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Montauk Renewables, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTK) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 54% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 9.9% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Montauk Renewables.

See our latest analysis for Montauk Renewables

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Montauk Renewables?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Montauk Renewables. 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. 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 Montauk Renewables, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Montauk Renewables. Our data shows that John Copelyn is the largest shareholder with 41% of shares outstanding. With 14% and 12% of the shares outstanding respectively, Peresec Prime Brokers (Pty) Ltd, Asset Management Arm and Theventheran Govender are the second and third largest shareholders. Theventheran Govender, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 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 Montauk Renewables

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.

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Montauk Renewables, Inc.. This gives them effective control of the company. Given it has a market cap of US$642m, that means they have US$347m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 13% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.