The recent 11% gain must have brightened Other Key Executive Hans-Volker Stahl's week, R. STAHL AG's (ETR:RSL2) most bullish insider

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over R. STAHL implies vested interests in company growth
• 53% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in R. STAHL is 36%

If you want to know who really controls R. STAHL AG (ETR:RSL2), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by €15m last week.

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

Check out our latest analysis for R. STAHL

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About R. STAHL?

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.

R. STAHL already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 R. STAHL, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

R. STAHL is not owned by hedge funds. Our data suggests that Hans-Volker Stahl, who is also the company's Other Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 39%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. With 14% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, RAG Foundation, Endowment Arm and Investmentaktiengesellschaft FÜR Langfristige Investoren Tgv are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. 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 R. STAHL

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of R. STAHL AG. Insiders own €63m worth of shares in the €161m company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 25% 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for R. STAHL that you should be aware of.

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.

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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.