A look at the shareholders of easyJet plc (LON:EZJ) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 66% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained UK£234m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 2.4% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of easyJet.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About easyJet?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
We can see that easyJet 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. 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 easyJet's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
earnings-and-revenue-growth
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. easyJet is not owned by hedge funds. Stelios Haji-Ioannou is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.5% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.9% and 5.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of easyJet
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.
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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in easyJet plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£3.5b, and insiders have UK£533m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 16% 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.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.
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.
