While individual investors own 24% of Aena S.M.E., S.A. (BME:AENA), private companies are its largest shareholders with 53% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Aena S.M.E indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Entidad Pública Empresarial ENAIRE with a 51% stake
• Institutional ownership in Aena S.M.E is 20%

If you want to know who really controls Aena S.M.E., S.A. (BME:AENA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 53% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 24% of the company’s shareholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Aena S.M.E.

View our latest analysis for Aena S.M.E

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aena S.M.E?

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 Aena S.M.E. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Aena S.M.E's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Aena S.M.E is not owned by hedge funds. Entidad Pública Empresarial ENAIRE is currently the largest shareholder, with 51% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. The second and third largest shareholders are BlackRock, Inc. and Veritas Asset Management LLP, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 3.0%.

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 Aena S.M.E

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Aena S.M.E., S.A.. It is a very large company, and board members collectively own €651m worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 53%, of the Aena S.M.E stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Aena S.M.E better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Aena S.M.E .

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.