Ashdod Refinery Ltd (TLV:ARF) institutional investors have had a good week as stock gains 10%

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Ashdod Refinery's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Ashdod Refinery Ltd (TLV:ARF) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 60% stake, institutions 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).

As a result, institutional investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 10% gain.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Ashdod Refinery

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ashdod Refinery?

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.

Ashdod Refinery already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Ashdod Refinery's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ashdod Refinery. Shapir Holding Bareket Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 10% of shares outstanding. With 9.0% and 8.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Menora Mivtachim Pensions & Gemel Ltd. and Summit Real Estate Holdings Ltd are the second and third largest shareholders.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Ashdod Refinery

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Ashdod Refinery Ltd in their own names. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It has a market capitalization of just ₪1.1b, and the board has only ₪77k worth of shares in their own names. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ashdod Refinery. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 10%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Ashdod Refinery .

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.