Retail investors among International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A.'s (LON:IAG) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 3.8% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over International Consolidated Airlines Group by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 47% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• 20% of International Consolidated Airlines Group is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (LON:IAG) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 55% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.8%.

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?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

International Consolidated Airlines Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 International Consolidated Airlines Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in International Consolidated Airlines Group. Qatar Airways Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. Capital Research and Management Company is the second largest shareholder owning 13% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.4% of the company stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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

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. 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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own UK£2.5m of stock. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 55% of International Consolidated Airlines Group shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 25%, of the International Consolidated Airlines 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:

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for International Consolidated Airlines Group you should be aware of.

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.