Insiders appear to have a vested interest in B&S Group's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
Willem Blijdorp owns 67% of the company
Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company
To get a sense of who is truly in control of B&S Group S.A. (AMS:BSGR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 68% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
So it follows, every decision made by insiders of B&S Group regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of B&S Group.
ENXTAM:BSGR Ownership Breakdown September 12th 2024
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About B&S 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.
Less than 5% of B&S Group is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.
ENXTAM:BSGR Earnings and Revenue Growth September 12th 2024
It looks like hedge funds own 5.5% of B&S Group shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Willem Blijdorp is currently the largest shareholder, with 67% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 5.5% and 2.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, JNE Partners LLP and Mondrian Investment Partners Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.
Insider Ownership Of B&S 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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of B&S Group S.A.. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a €260m stake in this €383m business. 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 22% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
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 for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with B&S Group (at least 1 which can't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
