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Who Owns Alumina Limited (ASX:AWC)?

In this analysis, my focus will be on developing a perspective on Alumina Limited’s (ASX:AWC) latest ownership structure, a less discussed, but important factor. Ownership structure has been found to have an impact on shareholder returns in both short- and long-term. Differences in ownership structure of companies can have a profound effect on how management’s incentives are aligned with shareholder returns, which is why we’ll take a moment to analyse AWC’s shareholder registry.

Check out our latest analysis for Alumina

ASX:AWC Ownership Summary August 24th 18
ASX:AWC Ownership Summary August 24th 18

Institutional Ownership

AWC’s 57.95% institutional ownership seems enough to cause large share price movements in the case of significant share sell-off or acquisitions by institutions, particularly when there is a low level of public shares available on the market to trade. Although AWC has a high institutional ownership, such stock moves, in the short-term, are more commonly linked to a particular type of active institutional investors – hedge funds. For shareholders in AWC, sharp price movements may not be a major concern as active hedge funds hold a relatively small stake in the company. Although this doesn’t necessarily lead to high short-term volatility, we should dig deeper into AWC’s ownership structure to find how the remaining owner types can affect its investment profile.

Insider Ownership

I find insiders are an important group of stakeholders, who are directly involved in making key decisions related to the use of capital. In essence, insider ownership is more about the alignment of shareholders’ interests with the management. Although individuals in AWC hold only a minor stake, given AWC is a large-cap company, it is relatively meaningful. This is a good sign for shareholders as the company’s executives and directors have their incentives directly linked to the company’s performance. I will also like to check what insiders have been doing recently with their holdings. Insider buying may be a sign of upbeat future expectations, however, selling doesn’t necessarily mean the opposite as insiders may be motivated by their personal financial needs.

ASX:AWC Insider Trading August 24th 18
ASX:AWC Insider Trading August 24th 18

General Public Ownership

A substantial ownership of 22.88% in AWC is held by the general public. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and potential acquisitions. This is a positive sign for an investor who wants to be involved in key decision-making of the company.

Private Company Ownership

Potential investors in AWC should also look at another important group of investors: private companies, with a stake of 9.40%, who are primarily invested because of strategic and capital gain interests. An ownership of this size indicates a strong financial backing and has the potential to influence AWC’s business strategy. Thus, investors should dig deeper into AWC’s business relations with these companies and how it can affect shareholder returns in the long-term.

Next Steps:

AWC’s considerably high level of institutional ownership calls for further analysis into its margin of safety. This is to avoid getting trapped in a sustained sell-off that is often observed in stocks with this level of institutional participation. However, ownership structure should not be the only determining factor when you’re building an investment thesis for AWC. Rather, you should be examining fundamental factors such as the intrinsic valuation, which is a key driver of Alumina’s share price. I urge you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:

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  1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for AWC’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for AWC’s outlook.

  2. Past Track Record: Has AWC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of AWC’s historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.