Key Insights
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Significant control over Chorus by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
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41% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Chorus Limited ( NZSE:CNU ), 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 58% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 41% of the company's stockholders. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Chorus, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Chorus
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Chorus?
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.
We can see that Chorus does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Chorus' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Chorus is not owned by hedge funds. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.9% and 5.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
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 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 Chorus
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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 information suggests that Chorus Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own NZ$4.4m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 58% stake in Chorus, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Chorus better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Chorus (at least 2 which are a bit concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company .
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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.
