Key Insights

• Significant control over Meridian Energy by state or government implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is New Zealand with a 51% stake
• Institutional ownership in Meridian Energy is 13%

Every investor in Meridian Energy Limited (NZSE:MEL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are state or government with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to NZ$15b last week, state or government would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Meridian Energy.

Check out our latest analysis for Meridian Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Meridian Energy?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Meridian Energy. 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. 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 Meridian Energy, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Meridian Energy. Our data shows that New Zealand is the largest shareholder with 51% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 1.9% and 1.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Accident Compensation Corporation, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

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

Insider Ownership Of Meridian Energy

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Meridian Energy Limited. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own NZ$9.4m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 36% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Meridian Energy that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.