Retail investors invested in PostNL N.V. (AMS:PNL) up 8.1% last week, insiders too were rewarded

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in PostNL indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 47% of the company
• Insider ownership in PostNL is 31%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of PostNL N.V. (AMS:PNL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 8.1% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but insiders who own 31% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

Check out our latest analysis for PostNL

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About PostNL?

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 PostNL. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see PostNL's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

PostNL is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Daniel Kretinsky, with ownership of 31%. With 2.7% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 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 PostNL

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of PostNL N.V.. It has a market capitalization of just €756m, and insiders have €235m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 56% stake in PostNL, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand PostNL better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for PostNL (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.