Villar International Ltd. (TLV:VILR) adds ₪190m in market cap and insiders have a 75% stake in that gain

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Villar International implies vested interests in company growth
• The largest shareholder of the company is Michal Tisser with a 54% stake
• Institutions own 13% of Villar International

If you want to know who really controls Villar International Ltd. (TLV:VILR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 75% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 7.2% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Villar International.

See our latest analysis for Villar International

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Villar International?

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 Villar International. 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. 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 Villar International's 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 Villar International. Michal Tisser is currently the largest shareholder, with 54% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are Matan Tisser and Ofer Tisser, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 7.0%. Matan Tisser, 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 Villar International

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.

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 insiders own more than half of Villar International Ltd.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own ₪2.1b worth of shares in the ₪2.8b 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-- including retail investors -- own 12% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Villar International better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Villar International is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.