Stock Analysis

What Kind Of Shareholder Owns Most Polytec Holding AG (VIE:PYT) Stock?

WBAG:PYT
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If you want to know who really controls Polytec Holding AG (VIE:PYT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

With a market capitalization of €145m, Polytec Holding is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Polytec Holding.

See our latest analysis for Polytec Holding

WBAG:PYT Ownership Summary, March 4th 2020
WBAG:PYT Ownership Summary, March 4th 2020
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What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Polytec Holding?

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.

Polytec Holding already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own 49% of 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 Polytec Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

WBAG:PYT Income Statement, March 4th 2020
WBAG:PYT Income Statement, March 4th 2020

Polytec Holding is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Polytec Holding's case, its Other Professional, Friedrich Huemer, is the largest shareholder, holding 16% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 5.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Huemer Invest GmbH and NN Group N.V, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

On further inspection, we found that 51% of the share register is owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Polytec Holding

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Polytec Holding AG. It has a market capitalization of just €145m, and insiders have €24m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, with a 35% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Polytec Holding (1 is significant) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.

About WBAG:PYT

Polytec Holding

Develops and manufactures plastic solutions for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles, and smart plastic and industrial applications.

Reasonable growth potential with adequate balance sheet.

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