Retail investors invested in Fleury S.A. (BVMF:FLRY3) copped the brunt of last week's R$279m market cap decline

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Fleury indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 48% of the company
• Institutions own 19% of Fleury

Every investor in Fleury S.A. (BVMF:FLRY3) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.0%.

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

View our latest analysis for Fleury

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fleury?

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.

We can see that Fleury does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Fleury, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Fleury. Our data shows that Banco Bradesco S.A. is the largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 4.5% and 2.8% of the stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Fleury

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 Fleury S.A.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth R$771m. Most would see this as a real positive. 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 47% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 25% of Fleury. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Fleury better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Fleury 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.