Private companies among Elecnor, S.A.'s (BME:ENO) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 3.4% last week

Key Insights

• Elecnor's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 54% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Cantiles XXI, S.L.)
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Elecnor, S.A. (BME:ENO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 54% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by €58m last week.

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

See our latest analysis for Elecnor

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Elecnor?

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.

Elecnor 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 Elecnor's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Elecnor. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Cantiles XXI, S.L. with 54% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Cobas Asset Management, SGIIC, SA is the second largest shareholder owning 2.2% of common stock, and Santander Asset Management SA SGIIC holds about 1.6% of the company 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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Elecnor

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Elecnor, S.A.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around €45m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 34% 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 54%, 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. Be aware that Elecnor is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com