Quest Holdings S.A.'s (ATH:QUEST) most bullish insider is President Theodore Fessas, and their holdings value went up by 8.7% last week

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Quest Holdings implies vested interests in company growth
• 50% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Theodore Fessas)
• Institutional ownership in Quest Holdings is 11%

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Every investor in Quest Holdings S.A. (ATH:QUEST) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 75% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 8.7% gain.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Quest Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Quest Holdings?

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 Quest Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Quest Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Quest Holdings. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Quest Holdings' case, its President, Theodore Fessas, is the largest shareholder, holding 50% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 25% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.3% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Eftychia Fessa is also Head of Marketing, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Quest Holdings

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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Quest Holdings S.A.. This gives them effective control of the company. So they have a €541m stake in this €716m business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Quest Holdings you should know about.

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.