Public companies in HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:HOT) are its biggest bettors, and their bets paid off as stock gained 3.7% 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
• ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. owns 76% of the company
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:HOT) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 76% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, public companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.7% gain.

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

See our latest analysis for HOCHTIEF

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HOCHTIEF?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in HOCHTIEF. 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 HOCHTIEF, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in HOCHTIEF. Our data shows that ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. is the 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. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 1.0% and 0.9% of the stock.

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. 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 company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in HOCHTIEF. 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 76% of HOCHTIEF. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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 2 warning signs for HOCHTIEF that you should be aware of.

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.