IMMOFINANZ AG (VIE:IIA) is largely controlled by institutional shareholders who own 80% of the company

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in IMMOFINANZ implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The largest shareholder of the company is CPI Property Group with a 75% stake
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of IMMOFINANZ AG (VIE:IIA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 80% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

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

See our latest analysis for IMMOFINANZ

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About IMMOFINANZ?

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 IMMOFINANZ does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 IMMOFINANZ's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.4% of IMMOFINANZ. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. CPI Property Group is currently the company's largest shareholder with 75% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. Petrus Advisers LLP is the second largest shareholder owning 5.4% of common stock, and Klaus Umek holds about 1.1% of the company stock.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of IMMOFINANZ

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in IMMOFINANZ AG. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own €23m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 13% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over IMMOFINANZ. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for IMMOFINANZ that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.