KSB SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:KSB) stock most popular amongst private companies who own 42%, while individual investors hold 35%

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

Wed, Jan 29, 2025, 12:21 AM 4 min read

If you want to know who really controls KSB SE & Co. KGaA (ETR:KSB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 42% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 35% of the company’s shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of KSB SE KGaA, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for KSB SE KGaA

ownership-breakdown — XTRA:KSB Ownership Breakdown January 29th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About KSB SE KGaA?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

KSB SE KGaA 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 KSB SE KGaA's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — XTRA:KSB Earnings and Revenue Growth January 29th 2025

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in KSB SE KGaA. Ksb Stiftung is currently the largest shareholder, with 42% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.1% and 2.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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 KSB SE KGaA

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.

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. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 35% stake in KSB SE KGaA. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 42%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for KSB SE KGaA you should know about.

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.