Institutional investors in Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments Ltd (TLV:ALHE) see ₪492m decrease in market cap last week, although long-term gains have benefitted them.

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Insiders own 25% of Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments

If you want to know who really controls Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments Ltd (TLV:ALHE), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 43% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to ₪6.9b last week. However, the 24% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments.

View our latest analysis for Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alony-Hetz Properties & 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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments. 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 Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments. The company's CEO Nathan Hetz Haitchook is the largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 9.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ahron Gover Frenkel and Phoenix Excellence Pension and Provident 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. 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 Alony-Hetz Properties & 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.

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 Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments Ltd. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful ₪1.7b stake in this ₪6.9b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Alony-Hetz Properties & Investments (at least 3 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.