Key Insights

The considerable ownership by retail investors in Collins Foods indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 48% ownership Institutions own 41% of Collins Foods

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Collins Foods Limited (ASX:CKF), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, institutions make up 41% of the company’s shareholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Collins Foods.

See our latest analysis for Collins Foods  ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Collins Foods?

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.

Collins Foods already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Collins Foods, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. earnings-and-revenue-growth

Collins Foods is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Yarra Funds Management Limited is the largest shareholder with 7.2% of shares outstanding. With 6.6% and 6.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Challenger Limited and Kevin William Perkins are the second and third largest shareholders. Kevin William Perkins, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.



A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Collins Foods

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Collins Foods Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$84m worth of the AU$1.2b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. 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 50% stake in Collins Foods, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the  2 warning signs  we've spotted with Collins Foods (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

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.