After the recent decline, Hamat Group Ltd. (TLV:HAMAT) CEO Yoav Golan's holdings have lost 10% of their value

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Hamat Group's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 53% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Yoav Golan)
• 24% of Hamat Group is held by Institutions

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If you want to know who really controls Hamat Group Ltd. (TLV:HAMAT), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to ₪492m last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

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

View our latest analysis for Hamat Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hamat Group?

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 Hamat Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Hamat Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hamat Group is not owned by hedge funds. The company's CEO Yoav Golan is the largest shareholder with 53% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have significant control over the outcome or future of the company, which is why insider ownership is usually looked upon favourably by prospective buyers. Intergemel Provident Funds and Pension Ltd. is the second largest shareholder owning 8.9% of common stock, and Phoenix Excellence Pension and Provident Ltd. holds about 8.7% of the company 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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Hamat 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. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Hamat Group Ltd.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of ₪492m, that means they have ₪260m worth of shares. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hamat Group. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 7.0%, private equity firms could influence the Hamat Group board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hamat Group better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Hamat Group (2 are concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.