Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation of America implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 8 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Insiders have sold recently

If you want to know who really controls Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 49% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 16% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 27%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Oil-Dri Corporation of America.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Oil-Dri Corporation of America?

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 Oil-Dri Corporation of America does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Oil-Dri Corporation of America, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is not owned by hedge funds. Jaffee Investment Partnership L.P. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. With 8.3% and 6.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Daniel Jaffee and GAMCO Investors, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Daniel Jaffee, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 53% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Oil-Dri Corporation of America

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.

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 Oil-Dri Corporation of America. It has a market capitalization of just US$502m, and insiders have US$60m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in Oil-Dri Corporation of America. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 17%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Oil-Dri Corporation of America that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.