Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company S.A.'s (ATH:EYDAP) biggest owners are state or government who got richer after stock soared 7.4% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in Athens Water Supply and Sewerage indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Greece owns 50% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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If you want to know who really controls Athens Water Supply and Sewerage Company S.A. (ATH:EYDAP), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that state or government own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, state or government collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €789m market cap following a 7.4% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Athens Water Supply and Sewerage.

Check out our latest analysis for Athens Water Supply and Sewerage

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Athens Water Supply and Sewerage?

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.

Athens Water Supply and Sewerage already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Athens Water Supply and Sewerage, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 10.0% of Athens Water Supply and Sewerage. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Greece with 50% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 10.0% of the stock.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Athens Water Supply and Sewerage

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 21% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 11%, 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.

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 like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.