Banque Cantonale de Genève SA's (VTX:BCGE) stock price dropped 3.5% last week; state or government would not be happy

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in Banque Cantonale de Genève indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 2 shareholders own 66% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Banque Cantonale de Genève SA (VTX:BCGE), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that state or government own the lion's share in the company with 66% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, state or government as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CHF64m.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Banque Cantonale de Genève, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Banque Cantonale de Genève

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Banque Cantonale de Genève?

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.

We can see that Banque Cantonale de Genève 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. 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 Banque Cantonale de Genève'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 Banque Cantonale de Genève. State of Geneva is currently the company's largest shareholder with 45% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 21% and 6.0% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Banque Cantonale de Genève

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 less than 1% of Banque Cantonale de Genève SA. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own CHF12m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Banque Cantonale de Genève. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.