Foncière Volta's (EPA:SPEL) market cap increased by €9.0m, insiders receive a 35% cut

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Foncière Volta implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 2 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Foncière Volta (EPA:SPEL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 35% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit €98m market cap following a 10% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Foncière Volta, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Foncière Volta

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Foncière Volta?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in 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 Foncière Volta, for yourself, below.

Foncière Volta is not owned by hedge funds. Foncière Vindi Société Anonyme is currently the company's largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. With 22% and 11% of the shares outstanding respectively, Herve Giaoui and Andre Saada are the second and third largest shareholders. Herve Giaoui, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Senior Key Executive.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Foncière Volta

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Foncière Volta. It has a market capitalization of just €98m, and insiders have €34m 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

With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Foncière Volta. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 17%, 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

Public companies currently own 28% of Foncière Volta stock. 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:

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 4 warning signs for Foncière Volta (3 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.