HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft's (ETR:HOT) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged €2.8b last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over HOCHTIEF by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. with a 76% stake
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:HOT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 76% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, public companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by €2.8b last week.

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

Check out our latest analysis for HOCHTIEF

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HOCHTIEF?

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.

HOCHTIEF already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 HOCHTIEF's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

HOCHTIEF is not owned by hedge funds. ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 76% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 0.8% of common stock, and Amundi Asset Management SAS holds about 0.6% of the company stock.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of HOCHTIEF

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.

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 cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 76% of HOCHTIEF stock. 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 HOCHTIEF better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that HOCHTIEF is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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.