STIF Société anonyme's (EPA:ALSTI) market cap surged €9.7m last week, private companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in STIF Société anonyme indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Jb Participations with a 52% stake
• 16% of STIF Société anonyme is held by insiders

Every investor in STIF Société anonyme (EPA:ALSTI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €103m market cap following a 10% gain in the stock.

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

Check out our latest analysis for STIF Société anonyme

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About STIF Société anonyme?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of STIF Société anonyme, for yourself, below.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in STIF Société anonyme. The company's largest shareholder is Jb Participations, with ownership of 52%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 11% and 5.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Manuel Burgos and Valerie Burgos are the second and third largest shareholders. Manuel Burgos, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of President.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of STIF Société anonyme

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in STIF Société anonyme. It has a market capitalization of just €103m, and insiders have €17m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 31% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

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:

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. Take risks for example - STIF Société anonyme has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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.