Individual investors own 24% of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:HOT) shares but public companies control 70% of the company

Key Insights

• HOCHTIEF's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 70% of the company is held by a single shareholder (ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A.)
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 70% to be precise, is public companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 24% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of HOCHTIEF.

Check out our latest analysis for HOCHTIEF

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HOCHTIEF?

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.

HOCHTIEF already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 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. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. with 70% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 1.1% and 1.0% of the stock.

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 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

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% 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

It appears to us that public companies own 70% of HOCHTIEF. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for HOCHTIEF that you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.