Stock Analysis

With 52% ownership of the shares, Erste Group Bank AG (VIE:EBS) is heavily dominated by institutional owners

WBAG:EBS
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Key Insights

  • Significantly high institutional ownership implies Erste Group Bank's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
  • 50% of the business is held by the top 22 shareholders
  • Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in Erste Group Bank AG (VIE:EBS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Erste Group Bank, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Erste Group Bank

ownership-breakdown
WBAG:EBS Ownership Breakdown July 15th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Erste Group Bank?

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.

We can see that Erste Group Bank does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Erste Group Bank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
WBAG:EBS Earnings and Revenue Growth July 15th 2025

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Erste Group Bank is not owned by hedge funds. Sparkassen Beteiligungs GmbH & Co KG is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. Die Erste österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung, Endowment Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 6.3% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 4.9% of the company stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 22 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Erste Group Bank

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.

Our information suggests that Erste Group Bank AG insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €5.0m of stock. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Erste Group Bank. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 14%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Erste Group Bank better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.

Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.

Discover if Erste Group Bank might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.

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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.