Key Insights

• Argo Blockchain’s significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 37% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in Argo Blockchain is 38%

Every investor in Argo Blockchain plc (LON:ARB) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 55% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 38% came under pressure after market cap dropped to UK£92m last week,retail investors took the most losses.

Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of Argo Blockchain, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Argo Blockchain

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Argo Blockchain?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it’s included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Argo Blockchain already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Argo Blockchain’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Argo Blockchain is not owned by hedge funds. First Investments Holding Ltd is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 7.0% of shares outstanding. HBOS Investment Fund Managers Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 4.5% of common stock, and A J Bell Holdings Limited, Asset Management Arm holds about 4.1% of the company stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company’s shares, meaning that the company’s shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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.

Insider Ownership Of Argo Blockchain

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.

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 less than 1% of Argo Blockchain plc. However, it’s possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It has a market capitalization of just UK£92m, and the board has only UK£31k worth of shares in their own names. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public — including retail investors — own 55% of Argo Blockchain. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.1%, 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:

It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Argo Blockchain better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example – Argo Blockchain has 4 warning signs (and 2 which are a bit unpleasant) we think you should know about.

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.