Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.'s (WSE:CPS) last week's 3.1% decline must have disappointed private companies who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Cyfrowy Polsat indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• Institutions own 14% of Cyfrowy Polsat

A look at the shareholders of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (WSE:CPS) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 3.1% decline in share price, private companies suffered the most losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Cyfrowy Polsat

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cyfrowy Polsat?

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 Cyfrowy Polsat 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. 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 Cyfrowy Polsat's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Cyfrowy Polsat is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Reddev Investments Limited with 47% of shares outstanding. With 6.4% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. and Generali Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S A are the second and third largest shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Cyfrowy Polsat

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. 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 information suggests that Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own zł62m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Cyfrowy Polsat. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 47%, of the shares on issue. 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:

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. Take risks for example - Cyfrowy Polsat has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think 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.