OUTsurance Group Limited's (JSE:OUT) largest shareholders are private equity firms with 31% ownership, individual investors own 30%

Key Insights

• Significant control over OUTsurance Group by private equity firms implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls OUTsurance Group Limited (JSE:OUT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private equity firms with 31% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And individual investors on the other hand have a 30% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of OUTsurance Group.

Check out our latest analysis for OUTsurance Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About OUTsurance Group?

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 OUTsurance Group. 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 OUTsurance Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

OUTsurance Group is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Remgro Limited with 31% of shares outstanding. With 14% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Royal Bafokeng Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Public Investment Corporation Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 55% stake.

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

Insider Ownership Of OUTsurance Group

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of OUTsurance Group Limited in their own names. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own R137m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. 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-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 31%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand OUTsurance Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with OUTsurance Group .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com