Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Spartan Resources implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Spartan Resources Limited (ASX:SPR) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 36% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by AU$156m last week. However, the 182% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Spartan Resources.

View our latest analysis for Spartan Resources

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Spartan Resources?

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.

We can see that Spartan Resources 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. 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 Spartan Resources' 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 Spartan Resources. Our data shows that Ramelius Resources Limited is the largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.2% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Simon Lawson directly holds 1.1% of the total shares outstanding.

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.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. 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 Spartan Resources

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Spartan Resources Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$29m worth of the AU$1.5b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 27% 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.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 9.9% stake in Spartan Resources. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 23% of Spartan Resources. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Spartan Resources (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.