Insiders were the biggest winners as El Al Israel Airlines Ltd.'s (TLV:ELAL) market cap grew by ₪265m last week

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in El Al Israel Airlines' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• The top 4 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutions own 11% of El Al Israel Airlines

If you want to know who really controls El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TLV:ELAL), 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 individual insiders with 44% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit ₪3.2b market cap following a 8.9% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of El Al Israel Airlines.

See our latest analysis for El Al Israel Airlines

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About El Al Israel Airlines?

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.

El Al Israel Airlines 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of El Al Israel Airlines, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in El Al Israel Airlines. The company's largest shareholder is Eli Rozenberg, with ownership of 44%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 2.9% and 2.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 El Al Israel Airlines

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of El Al Israel Airlines Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just ₪3.2b, and insiders have ₪1.4b worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in El Al Israel Airlines. 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. Be aware that El Al Israel Airlines is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

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.