Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Ainsworth Game Technology's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership

• The largest shareholder of the company is Johann Graf with a 53% stake

• Institutional ownership in Ainsworth Game Technology is 16%

If you want to know who really controls Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX:AGI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 60% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ainsworth Game Technology, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Ainsworth Game Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ainsworth Game Technology?

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.

We can see that Ainsworth Game Technology 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 Ainsworth Game Technology'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 Ainsworth Game Technology. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Johann Graf with 53% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Spheria Asset Management Pty Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 7.9% of common stock, and Allan Gray Proprietary Ltd. holds about 4.5% of the company stock.

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. 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 Ainsworth Game Technology

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders own more than half of Ainsworth Game Technology Limited. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a AU$209m stake in this AU$350m business. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 16% stake in Ainsworth Game Technology. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 7.2%, of the Ainsworth Game Technology stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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 risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Ainsworth Game Technology you should know about.

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.