Retail investors account for 45% of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust's (SGX:CWBU) ownership, while institutions account for 42%

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

Thu, May 2, 2024, 9:56 PM 4 min read

Significant control over Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
13% of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX:CWBU), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 42% of the company's stockholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust.

View our latest analysis for Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust

ownership-breakdown — SGX:CWBU Ownership Breakdown May 3rd 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust?

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.

Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust 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 Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — SGX:CWBU Earnings and Revenue Growth May 3rd 2024

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust. Cromwell Property Securities Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.3% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust. Insiders own €105m worth of shares in the €838m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 45% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.