While individual investors own 38% of St. Galler Kantonalbank AG (VTX:SGKN), state or government are its largest shareholders with 51% ownership

Key Insights

• St. Galler Kantonalbank's significant state or government ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The largest shareholder of the company is Canton of St.Gallen with a 51% stake
• Institutions own 10% of St. Galler Kantonalbank

To get a sense of who is truly in control of St. Galler Kantonalbank AG (VTX:SGKN), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 51% to be precise, is state or government. 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 38% of the company’s shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for St. Galler Kantonalbank

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About St. Galler Kantonalbank?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in St. Galler Kantonalbank. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at St. Galler Kantonalbank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in St. Galler Kantonalbank. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Canton of St.Gallen with 51% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 1.8% and 1.7%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of St. Galler Kantonalbank

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of St. Galler Kantonalbank AG in their own names. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around CHF12m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over St. Galler Kantonalbank. 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.

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.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.