Recent uptick might appease Benefit Systems S.A. (WSE:BFT) institutional owners after losing 8.4% over the past year

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Benefit Systems S.A. (WSE:BFT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

After a year of 8.4% losses, last week’s 12% gain would be welcomed by institutional investors as a likely sign that returns might start trending higher.

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

See our latest analysis for Benefit Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Benefit Systems?

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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Benefit Systems. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is James Van Bergh with 16% of shares outstanding. Benefit Invest Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 10% of common stock, and Fundacja Benefit Systems, Endowment Arm holds about 8.2% of the company stock.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 55% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Benefit Systems

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Benefit Systems S.A.. It has a market capitalization of just zł2.0b, and insiders have zł490m 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 25% stake in Benefit Systems. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 10%, of the Benefit Systems stock. 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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.