A look at the shareholders of Sangoma Technologies Corporation (TSE:STC) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutional investors would probably welcome last week's 22% increase in share prices after a year of 71% losses as a sign that returns are likely to begin trending higher.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Sangoma Technologies.

View our latest analysis for Sangoma Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sangoma Technologies?

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.

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

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sangoma Technologies. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.9% and 8.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Norman Worthington, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. Furthermore, CEO William Wignall is the owner of 1.3% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Sangoma Technologies

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Sangoma Technologies Corporation. Insiders have a CA$18m stake in this CA$140m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sangoma Technologies. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Sangoma Technologies , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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