Advertisement
UK markets close in 1 hour 43 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    8,057.36
    +16.98 (+0.21%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,599.11
    -120.26 (-0.61%)
     
  • AIM

    753.28
    -1.41 (-0.19%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1657
    +0.0013 (+0.11%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2473
    +0.0011 (+0.09%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    50,825.05
    -2,144.80 (-4.05%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,367.41
    -15.16 (-1.11%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,005.13
    -66.50 (-1.31%)
     
  • DOW

    37,891.07
    -569.85 (-1.48%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.65
    -0.16 (-0.19%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,330.40
    -8.00 (-0.34%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    37,628.48
    -831.60 (-2.16%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    17,284.54
    +83.27 (+0.48%)
     
  • DAX

    17,862.57
    -226.13 (-1.25%)
     
  • CAC 40

    7,979.67
    -112.19 (-1.39%)
     

What Kind Of Investors Own Most Of Dewhurst plc (LON:DWHT)?

The big shareholder groups in Dewhurst plc (LON:DWHT) have power over the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

With a market capitalization of UK£109m, Dewhurst is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Dewhurst.

Check out our latest analysis for Dewhurst

ownership-breakdown
ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dewhurst?

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

We can see that Dewhurst does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Dewhurst, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Dewhurst is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Valerie Dewhurst, with ownership of 14%. With 8.5% and 7.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Jarvis Securities plc, Asset Management Arm and Richard Dewhurst are the second and third largest shareholders. Richard Dewhurst, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. Additionally, the company's CEO David Dewhurst directly holds 6.1% of the total shares outstanding.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Dewhurst

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Dewhurst plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£109m, and insiders have UK£41m worth of shares in their own names. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, with a 26% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.0%, of the company's shares. 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.

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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Dewhurst .

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.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.