Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) most popular amongst retail investors who own 60% of the shares, institutions hold 23%
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by retail investors in Ascent Industries indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
The top 25 shareholders own 40% of the company
If you want to know who really controls Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 60% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Meanwhile, institutions make up 23% of the company’s shareholders. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Ascent Industries.
See our latest analysis for Ascent Industries
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ascent Industries?
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 Ascent Industries. 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 Ascent Industries' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.1% of Ascent Industries. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. The company's largest shareholder is Union Partners I LLC, with ownership of 7.7%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.1% and 4.2% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Christopher Hutter directly holds 2.1% of the total shares outstanding.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 Ascent Industries
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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Ascent Industries Co.. In their own names, insiders own US$4.9m worth of stock in the US$102m company. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 60% of Ascent Industries. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Private Equity Ownership
With a stake of 7.7%, private equity firms could influence the Ascent Industries board. 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.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Ascent Industries that you should be aware of.
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.
