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If you want to know who really controls Hipo Resources Limited (ASX:HIP), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it’s not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said ‘Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.’
Hipo Resources is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of AU$5.0m, which means it wouldn’t have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions are not on the share registry. Let’s take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about HIP.
View our latest analysis for Hipo Resources
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hipo Resources?
Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it’s unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.
There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don’t own the stock because they aren’t convinced it will perform well. Hipo Resources might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.
Hedge funds don’t have many shares in Hipo Resources. We’re not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of Hipo Resources
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Hipo Resources Limited. Insiders own AU$695k worth of shares in the AU$5.0m company. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.