Tubacex, S.A. (BME:TUB) surges 11%; retail investors who own 45% shares profited along with institutions

Key Insights

• Tubacex's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Tubacex is 32%

If you want to know who really controls Tubacex, S.A. (BME:TUB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 11% price gain, institutions also received a 32% cut.

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

View our latest analysis for Tubacex

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Tubacex?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Tubacex. 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 Tubacex, (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 Tubacex. Our data shows that Corporación JM Aristrain S.L. is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.4% by the third-largest shareholder.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 22 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Tubacex

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.

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 Tubacex, S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It appears that the board holds about €1.3m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of €419m. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 45% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Tubacex. 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 23%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Tubacex you should be aware of.

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.