Beter Bed Holding N.V.'s (AMS:BBED) 13% loss last week hit both individual investors who own 52% as well as institutions

If you want to know who really controls Beter Bed Holding N.V. (AMS:BBED), 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 investors with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 20% came under pressure after market cap dropped to €130m last week,individual investors took the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Beter Bed Holding.

Check out our latest analysis for Beter Bed Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Beter Bed Holding?

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.

We can see that Beter Bed Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Beter Bed Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Beter Bed Holding. Our data shows that NAVITAS Capital is the largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 9.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Beleggings- en Exploitatiemaatschappij De Engh, BV and Teslin Capital Management BV are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 12 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Beter Bed Holding

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 less than 1% of Beter Bed Holding N.V.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It seems the board members have no more than €48k worth of shares in the €130m company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 52% of Beter Bed Holding shares. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 17% stake in Beter Bed Holding. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 11%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Beter Bed Holding , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.