The recent pullback must have dismayed Palfinger AG (VIE:PAL) insiders who own 56% of the company

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Palfinger implies vested interests in company growth
• Hubert Palfinger owns 56% of the company
• Institutions own 16% of Palfinger

A look at the shareholders of Palfinger AG (VIE:PAL) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 7.1% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Palfinger.

See our latest analysis for Palfinger

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Palfinger?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Palfinger. 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. 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 Palfinger, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Palfinger. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Hubert Palfinger with 56% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 7.5% and 4.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Sany Heavy Industry Co.,Ltd and Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Palfinger

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.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Palfinger AG stock. This gives them a lot of power. Given it has a market cap of €770m, that means they have €434m worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Palfinger. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 7.5% of Palfinger stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. Take risks for example - Palfinger has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

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.