Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.'s (WSE:CPS) market cap dropped zł444m last week; Private companies bore the brunt

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Cyfrowy Polsat indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Reddev Investments Limited with a 54% stake
• Institutions own 16% of Cyfrowy Polsat

AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early.

If you want to know who really controls Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. (WSE:CPS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is private companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by zł444m.

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

See 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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cyfrowy Polsat. 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. 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 Cyfrowy Polsat, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cyfrowy Polsat. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Reddev Investments Limited with 54% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. Nationale-Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.4% of common stock, and Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne PZU SA holds about 3.5% of the company stock.

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 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.

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 information suggests that Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. 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 zł68m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 22% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. Be aware that Cyfrowy Polsat is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.