A2A S.p.A. (BIT:A2A) stock most popular amongst state or government who own 50%, while individual investors hold 37%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in A2A indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutions own 13% of A2A

A look at the shareholders of A2A S.p.A. (BIT:A2A) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that state or government own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 37% of the company’s shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of A2A, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for A2A

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About A2A?

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 A2A. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 A2A, (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 A2A. Comune di Milano is currently the company's largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. With 25% and 1.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, City of Brescia and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of A2A

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of A2A S.p.A. in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own €306k worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in A2A. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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 A2A (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.