Key Insights

The considerable ownership by retail investors in Cogeco Communications indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership Institutions own 35% of Cogeco Communications

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A look at the shareholders of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSE:CCA) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, institutions make up 35% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cogeco Communications.

See our latest analysis for Cogeco Communications TSX:CCA Ownership Breakdown May 15th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cogeco Communications?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cogeco Communications. 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 Cogeco Communications, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.TSX:CCA Earnings and Revenue Growth May 15th 2025

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Cogeco Communications. The company's largest shareholder is Gestion Audem, Inc., with ownership of 28%. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is the second largest shareholder owning 16% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 3.9% of the company stock.

On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of 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.

Story Continues

Insider Ownership Of Cogeco Communications

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 less than 1% of Cogeco Communications Inc.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CA$11m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can  click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 36% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 28%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cogeco Communications better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that  Cogeco Communications is showing  1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this freereport 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.

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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.

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