Key Insights

• Significant control over Americas Gold and Silver by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 19 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutions own 23% of Americas Gold and Silver

Every investor in Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (TSE:USA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 23% came under pressure after market cap dropped to CA$421m last week,retail investors took the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Americas Gold and Silver, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Americas Gold and Silver

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Americas Gold and Silver?

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.

Americas Gold and Silver already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Americas Gold and Silver's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Americas Gold and Silver. Sprott Mining Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 20% of shares outstanding. ASA Gold and Precious Metals Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Paul Huet holds about 3.6% of the company stock. Paul Huet, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 19 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Americas Gold and Silver

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Americas Gold and Silver Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just CA$421m, and insiders have CA$26m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 20%, of the Americas Gold and Silver stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Americas Gold and Silver .

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.