Key Insights

• Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 5 shareholders own 54% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is 34%

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Every investor in Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE:NGVC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 40% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage.

View our latest analysis for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage?

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 Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Isely Family Group is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. With 15% and 14% of the shares outstanding respectively, Kemper Isely and Zephyr Isely are the second and third largest shareholders. Note that the second and third-largest shareholders are also Co-President and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, meaning that the company's top shareholders are insiders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage

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. 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.

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 a reasonable proportion of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.. Insiders have a US$344m stake in this US$868m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 15%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.