Private companies who hold 53% of Floridienne S.A. (EBR:FLOB) gained 11%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• Floridienne's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 57% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Floridienne is 19%

Every investor in Floridienne S.A. (EBR:FLOB) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While private companies were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 11% price gain, insiders also received a 19% cut.

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

View our latest analysis for Floridienne

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Floridienne?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Floridienne might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

Floridienne is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Beluflo Sa is the largest shareholder with 40% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 17% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 9.3% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Gaetan Waucquez is the owner of 2.3% of the company's shares.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Floridienne

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Floridienne S.A.. Insiders have a €115m stake in this €593m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't 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.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 8.3%, private equity firms could influence the Floridienne board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 53%, of the Floridienne stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Floridienne better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Floridienne .

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.