Yahoo Finance With a 45% stake, Codan Limited (ASX:CDA) insiders have a lot riding on the company
Key Insights
Codan's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
A total of 11 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Codan Limited (ASX:CDA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 45% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
So, insiders of Codan have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Codan.
View our latest analysis for Codan
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Codan?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Codan. 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. 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 Codan's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Codan is not owned by hedge funds. P. Wall is currently the largest shareholder, with 19% of shares outstanding. With 16% and 4.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, David Uhrig and Brian Burns are the second and third largest shareholders.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 11 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.
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. 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 Codan
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. 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 Codan Limited. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful AU$874m stake in this AU$1.9b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 44% stake in Codan. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
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.
I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
