Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Montauk Renewables' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• Institutions own 32% of Montauk Renewables

A look at the shareholders of Montauk Renewables, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNTK) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 54% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of Montauk Renewables regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Montauk Renewables.

View our latest analysis for Montauk Renewables

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Montauk Renewables?

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.

We can see that Montauk Renewables does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Montauk Renewables' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Montauk Renewables is not owned by hedge funds. John Copelyn is currently the largest shareholder, with 40% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 14% and 12% of the stock. Theventheran Govender, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. 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 Montauk Renewables

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Montauk Renewables, Inc.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means they own US$288m worth of shares in the US$535m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Montauk Renewables better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find 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.

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

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.