Naturgy Energy Group, S.A.'s (BME:NTGY) market cap touched €20b last week, benefiting both private companies who own 52% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Naturgy Energy Group indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 69% ownership
• Institutions own 38% of Naturgy Energy Group

Every investor in Naturgy Energy Group, S.A. (BME:NTGY) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 52% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While private companies were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s €615m market cap gain, institutions too had a 38% share in those profits.

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

See our latest analysis for Naturgy Energy Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Naturgy Energy Group?

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 Naturgy Energy Group. 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. 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 Naturgy Energy Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Naturgy Energy Group. Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, la Caixa is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Rioja Bidco Shareholdings, S.L.U. and Global Infrastructure Management, LLC, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 21%.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 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 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 Naturgy Energy Group

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 information suggests that Naturgy Energy Group, 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. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own €3.0m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. 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 10% stake in Naturgy Energy Group. 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 52%, of the company's shares. 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:

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. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Naturgy Energy Group (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

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