Every investor in Ediston Property Investment Company plc (LON:EPIC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 85% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ediston Property Investment, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ediston Property Investment?
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.
We can see that Ediston Property Investment 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. 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 Ediston Property Investment's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
LSE:EPIC Earnings and Revenue Growth March 20th 2023
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Ediston Property Investment is not owned by hedge funds. Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC is currently the largest shareholder, with 17% of shares outstanding. Quilter Investors Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 10% of common stock, and Momentum Global Investment Management Limited holds about 8.7% of the company stock.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
Insider Ownership Of Ediston Property Investment
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Ediston Property Investment Company plc in their own names. It appears that the board holds about UK£316k worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of UK£139m. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ediston Property Investment. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ediston Property Investment better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ediston Property Investment you should know about.
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.
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