Individual investors account for 39% of NV Bekaert SA's (EBR:BEKB) ownership, while private companies account for 37%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in NV Bekaert indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 6 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutions own 24% of NV Bekaert

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Every investor in NV Bekaert SA (EBR:BEKB) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Private companies, on the other hand, account for 37% of the company's stockholders.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about NV Bekaert.

See our latest analysis for NV Bekaert

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About NV Bekaert?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

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

NV Bekaert is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert with 37% of shares outstanding. With 4.0% and 3.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Norges Bank Investment Management and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are the second and third largest shareholders.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of NV Bekaert

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of NV Bekaert SA in their own names. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own €2.9m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 39% stake in NV Bekaert. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 37%, 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:

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 NV Bekaert that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.