Yahoo Finance Kore Potash plc's (LON:KP2) market cap surged UK£50m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded
Key Insights
Significant control over Kore Potash by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
53% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Kore Potash plc (LON:KP2), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 24% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit UK£95m market cap following a 108% gain in the stock.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Kore Potash.
View our latest analysis for Kore Potash
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kore Potash?
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.
Kore Potash already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Kore Potash's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Kore Potash. Oman Investment Authority is currently the company's largest shareholder with 16% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 13% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.7% by the third-largest shareholder. David Hathorn, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
On looking further, we found that 53% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.
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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Kore Potash
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Kore Potash plc. Insiders have a UK£12m stake in this UK£95m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 14%, of the Kore Potash 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.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 17% of Kore Potash stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Kore Potash you should be aware of, and 2 of them are significant.
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.
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.
