While institutions invested in Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (WSE:CPS) benefited from last week's 4.7% gain, private companies stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Cyfrowy Polsat indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Reddev Investments Limited owns 54% of the company
• Institutions own 26% of Cyfrowy Polsat

A look at the shareholders of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (WSE:CPS) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While private companies were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 4.7% price gain, institutions also received a 26% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cyfrowy Polsat.

Check out our latest analysis for Cyfrowy Polsat

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cyfrowy Polsat?

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.

Cyfrowy Polsat already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Cyfrowy Polsat's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Cyfrowy Polsat is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Reddev Investments Limited, with ownership of 54%. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.4% and 5.9% of the stock.

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

Insider Ownership Of Cyfrowy Polsat

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own zł89m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 12% stake in Cyfrowy Polsat. 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

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Cyfrowy Polsat you should be aware of.

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.