Imerys S.A.'s (EPA:NK) last week's 5.2% decline must have disappointed public companies who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in Imerys indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA owns 55% of the company
• 16% of Imerys is held by Institutions

Every investor in Imerys S.A. (EPA:NK) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 55% stake, public companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 5.2% decline in share price, public companies suffered the most losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Imerys

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Imerys?

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 Imerys. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Imerys, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Imerys is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA with 55% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Aikaterini Kyriacopoulos is the second largest shareholder owning 5.1% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.8% of the company stock.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Imerys

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Imerys S.A.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth €116m. Most would see this as a real positive. If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 23% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Imerys. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 55% of Imerys. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Imerys , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.