Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd.'s (NSE:BALMLAWRIE) biggest owners are public companies who got richer after stock soared 10% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Balmer Lawrie by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 62% of the company is held by a single shareholder (Balmer Lawrie Investments Limited)
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. (NSE:BALMLAWRIE) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 62% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, public companies 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 Balmer Lawrie.

See our latest analysis for Balmer Lawrie

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Balmer Lawrie?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Balmer Lawrie. 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 Balmer Lawrie's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Balmer Lawrie. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Balmer Lawrie Investments Limited with 62% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 1.3% and 1.3% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Insurance Company Ltd, Asset Management Arm and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. 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 Balmer Lawrie

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. 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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Balmer Lawrie. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 62% of Balmer Lawrie stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Balmer Lawrie .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com