Österreichische Post AG's (VIE:POST) top owners are private companies with 53% stake, while 42% is held by individual investors

Key Insights

• Österreichische Post's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 53% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Österreichische Beteiligungs AG)
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

If you want to know who really controls Österreichische Post AG (VIE:POST), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 42% of the company’s shareholders.

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

View our latest analysis for Österreichische Post

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Österreichische Post?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Österreichische Post. 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. 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 Österreichische Post's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Österreichische Post. Our data shows that Österreichische Beteiligungs AG is the largest shareholder with 53% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 1.7% of common stock, and Erste Asset Management GmbH holds about 1.5% of the company stock.

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 Österreichische Post

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

With a 42% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Österreichische Post. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 53%, of the Österreichische Post stock. 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:

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 instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Österreichische Post that you should be aware of.

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.