Institutional investors have a lot riding on Vonovia SE (ETR:VNA) with 55% ownership

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

Thu, Apr 25, 2024, 5:31 AM 4 min read

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Vonovia SE (ETR:VNA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 3.5% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 39%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Vonovia.

See our latest analysis for Vonovia

ownership-breakdown — XTRA:VNA Ownership Breakdown April 25th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vonovia?

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.

Vonovia 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Vonovia, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — XTRA:VNA Earnings and Revenue Growth April 25th 2024

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Vonovia is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Norges Bank Investment Management, with ownership of 14%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.4% and 3.9% of the stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 Vonovia

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Vonovia. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Vonovia better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Vonovia (1 is concerning) that you should be aware of.

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.