Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering Ltd.'s (TLV:LEVI) largest shareholder, CEO Shaul Lotan sees holdings value fall by 12% following recent drop

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering implies vested interests in company growth
• 57% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Shaul Lotan)
• Institutions own 17% of Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering

If you want to know who really controls Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering Ltd. (TLV:LEVI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 69% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 12%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering.

See our latest analysis for Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering?

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.

Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering 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 Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering is not owned by hedge funds. With a 57% stake, CEO Shaul Lotan is the largest shareholder. This implies that they possess majority interests and have significant control over the company. Investors usually consider it a good sign when the company leadership has such a significant stake, as this is widely perceived to increase the chance that the management will act in the best interests of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 3.8% of the stock.

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 Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering Ltd. stock. This gives them a lot of power. Given it has a market cap of ₪927m, that means they have ₪636m 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Meshulam Levinstein Contracting & Engineering (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.