Duos Technologies Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOT) surges 12%; retail investors who own 44% shares profited along with institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over Duos Technologies Group by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 24 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders own 17% of Duos Technologies Group

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

If you want to know who really controls Duos Technologies Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 12% price gain, institutions also received a 39% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Duos Technologies Group.

See our latest analysis for Duos Technologies Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Duos Technologies Group?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Duos Technologies Group. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Duos Technologies Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Duos Technologies Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Bleichroeder LP with 8.0% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.0% and 4.0% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Charles Ferry directly holds 2.6% of the total shares outstanding.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 24 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Duos Technologies Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 Duos Technologies Group, Inc.. Insiders have a US$38m stake in this US$230m business. 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 44% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Duos Technologies Group you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.