Advertisement
Canada markets close in 1 hour 8 minutes
  • S&P/TSX

    22,189.28
    +82.20 (+0.37%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,252.55
    +4.06 (+0.08%)
     
  • DOW

    39,776.69
    +16.61 (+0.04%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7384
    +0.0012 (+0.16%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.13
    +1.78 (+2.19%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    95,433.80
    +2,375.95 (+2.55%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,239.30
    +26.60 (+1.20%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,122.77
    +8.42 (+0.40%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    16,379.73
    -19.79 (-0.12%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    12.96
    +0.18 (+1.41%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6842
    +0.0037 (+0.54%)
     

Do Institutions Own National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) Shares?

A look at the shareholders of National Bank of Canada (TSE:NA) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

National Bank of Canada has a market capitalization of CA$22b, so it's too big to fly under the radar. We'd expect to see both institutions and retail investors owning a portion of the company. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about NA.

View our latest analysis for National Bank of Canada

TSX:NA Ownership Summary, October 1st 2019
TSX:NA Ownership Summary, October 1st 2019

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About National Bank of Canada?

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

National Bank of Canada already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 26% of the company. 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 National Bank of Canada's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

TSX:NA Income Statement, October 1st 2019
TSX:NA Income Statement, October 1st 2019

Hedge funds don't have many shares in National Bank of Canada. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of National Bank of Canada

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.

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 National Bank of Canada insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own CA$42m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 74% stake in NA, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives retail investors collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.