While private companies own 31% of ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. (BME:ACS), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 44% ownership

Key Insights

• Significant control over ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Institutions own 24% of ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios

Every investor in ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. (BME:ACS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 44% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, private companies make up 31% of the company’s shareholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios.

Check out our latest analysis for ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios?

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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Rosan Inversiones, S.L. with 15% of shares outstanding. Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, la Caixa is the second largest shareholder owning 10.0% of common stock, and Societe Generale Group, Banking Investments holds about 7.2% of the company stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €57m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 31%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for ACS Actividades de Construcción y Servicios (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.