Paz Retail And Energy Ltd.'s (TLV:PAZ) high institutional ownership speaks for itself as stock continues to impress, up 3.9% over last week

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Paz Retail And Energy's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 8 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Paz Retail And Energy Ltd. (TLV:PAZ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 70% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained ₪263m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 81% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Paz Retail And Energy, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Paz Retail And Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Paz Retail And Energy?

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.

Paz Retail And Energy 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. 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 Paz Retail And Energy's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Paz Retail And Energy. Migdal Mutual Funds Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.5% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.8% by the third-largest shareholder.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. 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 Paz Retail And Energy

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. 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.

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.

Our information suggests that Paz Retail And Energy Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own ₪2.5m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Paz Retail And Energy. 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:

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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Paz Retail And Energy that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.