International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A.'s (LON:IAG) market cap surged UK£1.1b last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• International Consolidated Airlines Group's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 44% ownership
• Institutions own 16% of International Consolidated Airlines Group

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If you want to know who really controls International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (LON:IAG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 58% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit UK£17b market cap following a 7.0% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of International Consolidated Airlines Group.

View our latest analysis for International Consolidated Airlines Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About International Consolidated Airlines 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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in International Consolidated Airlines Group. 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 International Consolidated Airlines Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

International Consolidated Airlines Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Qatar Airways Limited is the largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. Capital Research and Management Company is the second largest shareholder owning 5.3% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 3.2% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 International Consolidated Airlines Group

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own UK£5.1m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 58% of International Consolidated Airlines Group. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 27%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand International Consolidated Airlines Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with International Consolidated Airlines Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.