Great week for Altshuler Shaham Finance Ltd (TLV:ALTF) institutional investors after losing 27% over the previous year

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Altshuler Shaham Finance implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The largest shareholder of the company is Altshuler Shaham Ltd. with a 56% stake
• Insiders own 14% of Altshuler Shaham Finance

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Altshuler Shaham Finance Ltd (TLV:ALTF), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 62% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutional investors would probably welcome last week's 11% increase in the share price after a year of 27% losses as a sign that returns may to begin trending higher.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Altshuler Shaham Finance

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Altshuler Shaham Finance?

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.

Altshuler Shaham Finance already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Altshuler Shaham Finance'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. Altshuler Shaham Finance is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Altshuler Shaham Ltd. with 56% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 14% and 1.6% of the stock. Yair Levinstein, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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. 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 Altshuler Shaham Finance

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Altshuler Shaham Finance Ltd. Insiders own ₪139m worth of shares in the ₪984m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Altshuler Shaham Finance. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Altshuler Shaham Finance you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.