Institutional investors have a lot riding on Alior Bank S.A. (WSE:ALR) with 45% ownership

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Alior Bank's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Alior Bank S.A. (WSE:ALR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 3.8% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 87% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

See our latest analysis for Alior Bank

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alior Bank?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Alior Bank. 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 Alior Bank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Alior Bank. The company's largest shareholder is Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen SA, with ownership of 32%. With 9.5% and 8.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. and Allianz Asset Management GmbH are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 50% stake.

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 Alior Bank

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 23% 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 32% of Alior Bank. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Alior Bank you should know about.

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.