Institutional investors in BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (AMS:BESI) lost 3.6% last week but have reaped the benefits of longer-term growth

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

Sun, Mar 31, 2024, 12:17 AM 4 min read

To get a sense of who is truly in control of BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (AMS:BESI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 66% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

No shareholder likes losing money on their investments, especially institutional investors who saw their holdings drop 3.6% in value last week. However, the 84% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.

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

View our latest analysis for BE Semiconductor Industries

ownership-breakdown — ENXTAM:BESI Ownership Breakdown March 31st 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BE Semiconductor Industries?

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.

BE Semiconductor Industries already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see BE Semiconductor Industries' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — ENXTAM:BESI Earnings and Revenue Growth March 31st 2024

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in BE Semiconductor Industries. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.3% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.8% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Richard Blickman is the owner of 1.6% of the company's shares.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 18 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 BE Semiconductor Industries

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.. Insiders own €176m worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over BE Semiconductor Industries. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for BE Semiconductor Industries you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.