Elior Group SA's (EPA:ELIOR) biggest owners are public companies who got richer after stock soared 7.7% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Elior Group by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Elior Group is 23%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Elior Group SA (EPA:ELIOR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €827m market cap following a 7.7% gain in the stock.

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

View our latest analysis for Elior Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Elior 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.

We can see that Elior Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Elior Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Elior Group is not owned by hedge funds. Derichebourg SA is currently the company's largest shareholder with 48% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.0% and 3.6% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Elior Group

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

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 Elior Group SA 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 €1.4m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of €827m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Elior 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 4.9%, 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 48% of Elior Group. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Elior Group 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.