Sacyr, S.A.'s (BME:SCYR) last week's 3.1% decline must have disappointed individual investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Sacyr indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 14 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 21% of Sacyr is held by Institutions

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sacyr, S.A. (BME:SCYR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 44% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, individual investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by €87m.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Sacyr

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sacyr?

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.

Sacyr 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. 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 Sacyr, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Sacyr is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Disa Corporación Petrolífera, S.A., with ownership of 11%. With 6.6% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Prilou, S.L. and Grupo Empresarial Fuertes S.L. are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Manuel Manrique Cecilia, the CEO has 1.2% of the shares allocated to their name.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 14 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. 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 Sacyr

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.

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 Sacyr, S.A.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth €241m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 44% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sacyr. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 26%, of the Sacyr stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

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. Take risks for example - Sacyr has 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

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.