Do Institutions Own Duxton Water Limited (ASX:D2O) Shares?

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If you want to know who really controls Duxton Water Limited (ASX:D2O), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Warren Buffett said that he likes 'a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people'. So it's nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

Duxton Water is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of AU$164m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about D2O.

View our latest analysis for Duxton Water

ASX:D2O Ownership Summary, September 18th 2019
ASX:D2O Ownership Summary, September 18th 2019

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Duxton Water?

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 Duxton Water does have institutional investors; and they hold 5.6% of the stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Duxton Water's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

ASX:D2O Income Statement, September 17th 2019
ASX:D2O Income Statement, September 17th 2019

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Duxton Water. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Duxton Water

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves.

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.