Answear.com S.A.'s (WSE:ANR) recent 12% pullback adds to one-year year losses, institutional owners may take drastic measures

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Answear.com implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The largest shareholder of the company is Forum Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. with a 54% stake
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls Answear.com S.A. (WSE:ANR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 56% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And so it follows that institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to zł455m last week after a 12% drop in the share price. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 35% for stockholders, may not sit well with this group of investors. Often called “market movers", institutions wield significant power in influencing the price dynamics of any stock. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Answear.com which might hurt individual investors.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Answear.com

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Answear.com?

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 Answear.com. 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 Answear.com's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Answear.com is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Forum Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. is the largest shareholder with 54% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 23% and 0.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, MCI Capital TFI SA and Quercus TFI S.A. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Answear.com

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Answear.com S.A. in their own names. It has a market capitalization of just zł455m, and the board has only zł4.0m worth of shares in their own names. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 20% stake in Answear.com. 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 23% stake in Answear.com. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Answear.com better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Answear.com you should be aware of.

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.