Insiders were the biggest winners as Jacob Finance and Investments Ltd's (TLV:JCFN) market cap grew by ₪60m last week

Key Insights

• Jacob Finance and Investments' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 59% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Shaul Nawi)
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Jacob Finance and Investments Ltd (TLV:JCFN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 66% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit ₪573m market cap following a 12% gain in the stock.

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

View our latest analysis for Jacob Finance and Investments

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jacob Finance and Investments?

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.

Less than 5% of Jacob Finance and Investments is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

Jacob Finance and Investments is not owned by hedge funds. Shaul Nawi is currently the largest shareholder, with 59% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 3.3% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.3% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 Jacob Finance and Investments

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Jacob Finance and Investments Ltd stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means they own ₪375m worth of shares in the ₪573m company. That's quite meaningful. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in Jacob Finance and Investments. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Jacob Finance and Investments .

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.