While hedge funds own 24% of GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSE:GFP), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 34% ownership
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by retail investors in GreenFirst Forest Products indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
The top 5 shareholders own 53% of the company
Every investor in GreenFirst Forest Products Inc. (TSE:GFP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 34% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And hedge funds on the other hand have a 24% ownership in the company.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of GreenFirst Forest Products, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for GreenFirst Forest Products
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GreenFirst Forest Products?
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 GreenFirst Forest Products. 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. 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 GreenFirst Forest Products' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 24% of GreenFirst Forest Products. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Our data shows that Senvest Management, LLC is the largest shareholder with 24% of shares outstanding. With 16% and 5.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Interfor Corporation and EHP Funds Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.
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 a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
Insider Ownership Of GreenFirst Forest Products
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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in GreenFirst Forest Products Inc.. In their own names, insiders own CA$6.3m worth of stock in the CA$185m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over GreenFirst Forest Products. 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
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.9%, of the company's shares. 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.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 20% of GreenFirst Forest Products stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand GreenFirst Forest Products better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for GreenFirst Forest Products that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
