Private companies account for 52% of Ebro Foods, S.A.'s (BME:EBRO) ownership, while individual investors account for 23%

Key Insights

• Ebro Foods' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Ebro Foods, S.A. (BME:EBRO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 23% of the company’s shareholders.

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

See our latest analysis for Ebro Foods

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ebro Foods?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Ebro Foods. 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 Ebro Foods' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Ebro Foods is not owned by hedge funds. Corporación Financiera Alba, S.A. is currently the largest shareholder, with 15% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 10%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 54% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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 Ebro Foods

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

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Ebro Foods, 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 €39m 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in Ebro Foods. 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 Equity Ownership

With a stake of 15%, private equity firms could influence the Ebro Foods board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 52%, of the shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ebro Foods better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ebro Foods you should know about.

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.