Significantly high institutional ownership implies Ceconomy's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
57% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
A look at the shareholders of Ceconomy AG (ETR:CEC) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by €79m last week. However, the 2.1% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ceconomy, beginning with the chart below.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ceconomy?
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.
Ceconomy already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Ceconomy's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
XTRA:CEC Earnings and Revenue Growth January 14th 2025
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ceconomy. Convergenta Invest und Beteiligungs GmbH is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 17% and 11% of the stock.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
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 Ceconomy
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 18% stake in Ceconomy. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 28%, of the Ceconomy stock. 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.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 6.7% of Ceconomy stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
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.
