The considerable ownership by individual investors in BenevolentAI indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of BenevolentAI S.A. (AMS:BAI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 28% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched €107m last week, while insiders who own 28% also benefitted.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of BenevolentAI.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BenevolentAI?
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.
BenevolentAI already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 BenevolentAI's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
ENXTAM:BAI Earnings and Revenue Growth August 23rd 2024
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in BenevolentAI. Our data shows that Kenneth Mulvany is the largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 15% and 7.5% of the stock.
A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 50% stake.
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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of BenevolentAI
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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of BenevolentAI S.A.. Insiders have a €30m stake in this €107m 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 28% stake in BenevolentAI. 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 Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 21%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 4.9%, of the company's shares. 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:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand BenevolentAI better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for BenevolentAI (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about.
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.
