Acciona, S.A.'s (BME:ANA) last week's 3.7% decline must have disappointed private companies who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Significant control over Acciona by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 56% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Institutions own 12% of Acciona

Every investor in Acciona, S.A. (BME:ANA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, private companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.7%.

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

View our latest analysis for Acciona

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Acciona?

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.

We can see that Acciona does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Acciona's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Acciona. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Tussen de Grachten, BV with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 26% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.4% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Jose Entrecanales Domecq is the owner of 0.8% of the company's shares.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Acciona

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Acciona, S.A.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own €82m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in Acciona. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 56%, of the company's shares. 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 Acciona better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Acciona (of which 2 can't be ignored!) 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.

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

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.