Central Asia Metals plc (LON:CAML) is largely controlled by institutional shareholders who own 83% of the company

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editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Thu, Feb 20, 2025, 10:19 PM 4 min read

A look at the shareholders of Central Asia Metals plc (LON:CAML) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 83% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

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. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Central Asia Metals.

View our latest analysis for Central Asia Metals

ownership-breakdown — AIM:CAML Ownership Breakdown February 21st 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Central Asia Metals?

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 Central Asia Metals. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Central Asia Metals' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — AIM:CAML Earnings and Revenue Growth February 21st 2025

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Central Asia Metals is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Fidelity International Ltd is the largest shareholder with 9.9% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.5% and 8.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 10 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Central Asia Metals

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Central Asia Metals plc. As individuals, the insiders collectively own UK£5.5m worth of the UK£274m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 13% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Central Asia Metals. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Central Asia Metals , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.