Latitude Group Holdings Limited's (ASX:LFS) top owners are private companies with 28% stake, while 26% is held by private equity firms (2024)

Key Insights

• Latitude Group Holdings' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

• The top 2 shareholders own 52% of the company

• 24% of Latitude Group Holdings is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Latitude Group Holdings Limited (ASX:LFS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 28% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, private equity firms make up 26% of the company’s shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Latitude Group Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Latitude Group Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Latitude Group Holdings?

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.

We can see that Latitude Group Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Latitude Group Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Latitude Group Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that KKR & Co. Inc. is the largest shareholder with 26% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 25% and 17%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Robert Belan is the owner of 1.1% of the company's shares.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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 Latitude Group Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 some shares in Latitude Group Holdings Limited. In their own names, insiders own AU$36m worth of stock in the AU$1.2b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 26% stake in Latitude Group Holdings. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 28%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Latitude Group Holdings you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.