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Do Insiders Own Lots Of Shares In A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (CVE:AZ)?

The big shareholder groups in A2Z Smart Technologies Corp. (CVE:AZ) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

With a market capitalization of CA$225m, A2Z Smart Technologies is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about A2Z Smart Technologies.

View our latest analysis for A2Z Smart Technologies

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About A2Z Smart Technologies?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

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There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. A2Z Smart Technologies' earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Hedge funds don't have many shares in A2Z Smart Technologies. The company's CEO Bentsur Joseph is the largest shareholder with 42% of shares outstanding. The Phoenix Investment and Finances Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 0.2% of common stock, and Impact Portfolios Management Ltd holds about 0.1% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 6 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of A2Z Smart 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in A2Z Smart Technologies Corp.. Insiders have a CA$94m stake in this CA$225m business. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public collectively holds 58% of A2Z Smart Technologies shares. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that A2Z Smart Technologies is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.

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.

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