Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in COG Financial Services implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 51% of the business is held by the top 7 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

Our free stock report includes 3 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in COG Financial Services. Read for free now.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of COG Financial Services Limited (ASX:COG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 31% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Last week’s 11% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 16% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of COG Financial Services.

See our latest analysis for COG Financial Services

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About COG Financial Services?

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 COG Financial Services. 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 COG Financial Services' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It would appear that 12% of COG Financial Services shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Our data shows that Cameron McCullagh is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 6.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

We also observed that the top 7 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 COG Financial Services

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of COG Financial Services Limited. Insiders own AU$51m worth of shares in the AU$279m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 31% stake in COG Financial Services. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.6%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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. Be aware that COG Financial Services is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.