What Kind Of Shareholders Hold The Majority In Hibernia REIT Plc's (ISE:HBRN) Shares?

If you want to know who really controls Hibernia REIT Plc (ISE:HBRN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

Hibernia REIT is a smaller company with a market capitalization of €669m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Hibernia REIT.

View our latest analysis for Hibernia REIT

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hibernia REIT?

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.

We can see that Hibernia REIT 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Hibernia REIT's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hibernia REIT is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America - College Retirement Equities Fund with 6.3% of shares outstanding. Baillie Gifford & Co. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.0% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 5.1% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Kevin Nowlan directly holds 1.2% of the total shares outstanding.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 52% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 Hibernia REIT

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Hibernia REIT Plc. In their own names, insiders own €21m worth of stock in the €669m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, with a 29% stake in the company, will not 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Hibernia REIT , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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. 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.
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