Hedge funds own 32% of Bilfinger SE (ETR:GBF) shares but retail investors control 36% of the company

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editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Mon, Nov 11, 2024, 5:43 AM 4 min read

Every investor in Bilfinger SE (ETR:GBF) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Hedge funds, on the other hand, account for 32% of the company's stockholders.

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

See our latest analysis for Bilfinger

ownership-breakdown — XTRA:GBF Ownership Breakdown November 11th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bilfinger?

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.

Bilfinger 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 Bilfinger's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — XTRA:GBF Earnings and Revenue Growth November 11th 2024

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 32% of Bilfinger. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. The company's largest shareholder is Cevian Capital AB, with ownership of 20%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 5.2% of the stock.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Bilfinger

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

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Bilfinger. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Bilfinger that you should be aware of before investing here.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.