Yahoo Finance Western Forest Products Inc.'s (TSE:WEF) largest shareholders are retail investors with 53% ownership, institutions own 46%
Key Insights
Significant control over Western Forest Products by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
The top 25 shareholders own 46% of the company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Western Forest Products Inc. (TSE:WEF), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 53% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, institutions make up 46% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Western Forest Products.
See our latest analysis for Western Forest Products
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Western Forest Products?
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.
We can see that Western Forest Products does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Western Forest Products, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Western Forest Products is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Letko, Brosseau & Associates Inc. with 15% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 6.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, FMR LLC and Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. are the second and third largest shareholders.
Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.
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 Western Forest Products
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.
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 less than 1% of Western Forest Products Inc.. It appears that the board holds about CA$1.5m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of CA$188m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 53% of Western Forest Products 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:
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.
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.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.
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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.
