Institutions along with retail investors who hold considerable shares inAroundtown SA (ETR:AT1) come under pressure; lose 26% of holdings value

Key Insights

• Aroundtown's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 8 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in Aroundtown is 10%

A look at the shareholders of Aroundtown SA (ETR:AT1) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While institutions, who own 23% shares weren’t spared from last week’s €723m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

See our latest analysis for Aroundtown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aroundtown?

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.

Aroundtown 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. 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 Aroundtown's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Aroundtown. TLG Immobilien AG is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Avisco Group PLC and Yakir Gabay are the second and third largest shareholders. Yakir Gabay, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Vice Chairman of Advisory Board.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Aroundtown

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Aroundtown SA. Insiders own €204m worth of shares in the €2.0b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 16%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 12% of the Aroundtown shares on issue. 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 Aroundtown better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with Aroundtown (including 3 which can't be ignored) .

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.

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.