Baltic Classifieds Group PLC's (LON:BCG) institutional investors lost 4.2% over the past week but have profited from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Baltic Classifieds Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 7 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Baltic Classifieds Group PLC (LON:BCG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 61% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Losing money on investments is something no shareholder enjoys, least of all institutional investors who saw their holdings value drop by 4.2% last week. Still, the 40% one-year gains may have helped mitigate their overall losses. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Baltic Classifieds Group.

View our latest analysis for Baltic Classifieds Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Baltic Classifieds Group?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Baltic Classifieds Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Baltic Classifieds Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 6.3% of Baltic Classifieds Group. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. ANTLER EquityCo S.a r.l. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 7.6% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Justinas Simkus is the owner of 3.3% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 7 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Baltic Classifieds Group

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Baltic Classifieds Group PLC. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own UK£71m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Baltic Classifieds Group. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 13%, of the Baltic Classifieds Group stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.

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