With 55% ownership, Uzin Utz SE (ETR:UZU) insiders have a lot at stake

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Simply Wall St

Sun, Sep 17, 2023, 1:08 AM 4 min read

Key Insights

Significant insider control over Uzin Utz implies vested interests in company growth
A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Uzin Utz SE (ETR:UZU), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 55% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions.

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

See our latest analysis for Uzin Utz

ownership-breakdown — XTRA:UZU Ownership Breakdown September 17th 2023

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Uzin Utz?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Uzin Utz, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — XTRA:UZU Earnings and Revenue Growth September 17th 2023

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Uzin Utz. The company's largest shareholder is Alberdingk Boley GmbH, with ownership of 26%. Heinz Utz is the second largest shareholder owning 26% of common stock, and Manuela Pleichinger holds about 11% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Uzin Utz

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 the majority of Uzin Utz SE. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means they own €125m worth of shares in the €229m company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 26%, of the shares on issue. 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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.