Individual investors are Flow Traders Ltd.'s (AMS:FLOW) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped €52m

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Flow Traders indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 49% ownership
• Insider ownership in Flow Traders is 27%

A look at the shareholders of Flow Traders Ltd. (AMS:FLOW) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 50% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders, who own 27% shares weren’t spared from last week’s €52m market cap drop, individual investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

View our latest analysis for Flow Traders

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Flow Traders?

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.

Flow Traders 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. 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 Flow Traders' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Flow Traders is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Jan T. A. van Kuijk, with ownership of 13%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 3.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Flow Traders

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Flow Traders Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just €738m, and insiders have €203m 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-- including retail investors -- own 50% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Flow Traders you should be aware of.

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.