Key Insights

• Significant control over Atlantic International by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• IDC Technologies, INC. owns 51% of the company
• Insiders own 17% of Atlantic International

A look at the shareholders of Atlantic International Corp. (NASDAQ:ATLN) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 51% to be precise, is private companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by US$32m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Atlantic International, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Atlantic International

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Atlantic International?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Atlantic International, for yourself, below.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Atlantic International. The company's largest shareholder is IDC Technologies, INC., with ownership of 51%. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.2% and 4.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Jeffrey Jagid, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Atlantic International

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Atlantic International Corp.. It has a market capitalization of just US$286m, and insiders have US$50m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Atlantic International. 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 51%, of the Atlantic International stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Atlantic International is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.