First International Bank of Israel Ltd's (TLV:FIBI) top owners are public companies with 48% stake, while 28% is held by individual investors

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in First International Bank of Israel indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• Institutional ownership in First International Bank of Israel is 23%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of First International Bank of Israel Ltd (TLV:FIBI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is public companies. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And individual investors on the other hand have a 28% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of First International Bank of Israel.

Check out our latest analysis for First International Bank of Israel

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About First International Bank of Israel?

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 First International Bank of Israel 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 First International Bank of Israel's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in First International Bank of Israel. F.I.B.I. Holdings Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 48% of shares outstanding. Psagot Index Funds Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 4.6% of common stock, and More Investment House Ltd. holds about 3.3% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. 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 First International Bank of Israel

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 First International Bank of Israel Ltd in their own names. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own ₪3.5m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over First International Bank of Israel. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 48% of First International Bank of Israel stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand First International Bank of Israel better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for First International Bank of Israel that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.