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

Key Insights

• Significant control over A2A by state or government implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in A2A is 13%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of A2A S.p.A. (BIT:A2A), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are state or government with 50% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And individual investors on the other hand have a 37% ownership in the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of A2A.

View our latest analysis for A2A

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About A2A?

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.

A2A already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 A2A's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in A2A. Our data shows that City of Brescia is the largest shareholder with 25% of shares outstanding. Comune di Milano is the second largest shareholder owning 25% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.9% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of A2A

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in A2A. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand A2A better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for A2A (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.