Private companies who have a significant stake must be disappointed along with institutions after Ashtrom Group Ltd.'s (TLV:ASHG) market cap dropped by ₪227m

Key Insights

• Ashtrom Group's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The largest shareholder of the company is Unedco United Engineering and Development Company Ltd. with a 57% stake
• 24% of Ashtrom Group is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Ashtrom Group Ltd. (TLV:ASHG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 58% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 24% came under pressure after market cap dropped to ₪5.1b last week,private companies took the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ashtrom Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Ashtrom Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ashtrom 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.

We can see that Ashtrom Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Ashtrom Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Ashtrom Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Unedco United Engineering and Development Company Ltd. with 57% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Clal Pension And Gemel Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 9.9% of common stock, and Menora Mivtachim Pensions & Gemel Ltd. holds about 7.6% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Gil Gueron is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Ashtrom 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Ashtrom Group Ltd.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own ₪237m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 13% stake in Ashtrom Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 58%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Ashtrom Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this 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.