Yahoo Finance Savaria Corporation (TSE:SIS) most popular amongst individual investors who own 54% of the shares, institutions hold 26%
Key Insights
Significant control over Savaria by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 44% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Savaria Corporation (TSE:SIS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 54% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And institutions on the other hand have a 26% ownership in the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Savaria, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Savaria
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Savaria?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Savaria. 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 Savaria's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Savaria. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Savaria's case, its Top Key Executive, Marcel Bourassa, is the largest shareholder, holding 18% of shares outstanding. With 6.5% and 2.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Manulife Asset Management are the second and third largest shareholders.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Savaria
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Savaria Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just CA$1.2b, and insiders have CA$238m worth of shares in their own names. 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, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Savaria shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.
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 Savaria is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
