Yahoo Finance Hill & Smith Holdings PLC's (LON:HILS) recent 8.4% pullback adds to one-year year losses, institutional owners may take drastic measures
A look at the shareholders of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC (LON:HILS) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 88% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's share price fell by 8.4% last week. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 46% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. Hence, if weakness in Hill & Smith Holdings' share price continues, institutional investors may feel compelled to sell the stock, which might not be ideal for individual investors.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Hill & Smith Holdings.
See our latest analysis for Hill & Smith Holdings
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hill & Smith Holdings?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
Hill & Smith Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in 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. 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 Hill & Smith Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hill & Smith Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is abrdn plc with 7.9% of shares outstanding. With 5.0% and 4.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Invesco Ltd. and Royal London Asset Management Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 14 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that 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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Hill & Smith Holdings
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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Hill & Smith Holdings PLC in their own names. It has a market capitalization of just UK£752m, and the board has only UK£553k worth of shares in their own names. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 12% stake in Hill & Smith Holdings. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Hill & Smith Holdings .
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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