While institutions invested in ENEA S.A. (WSE:ENA) benefited from last week's 3.1% gain, state or government stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• ENEA's significant state or government ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 52% of the company is held by a single shareholder (The State Treasury of the Republic of Poland)
• Institutional ownership in ENEA is 31%

Every investor in ENEA S.A. (WSE:ENA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are state or government with 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While state or government were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 3.1% price gain, institutions also received a 31% cut.

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

Check out our latest analysis for ENEA

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ENEA?

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.

ENEA already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 ENEA, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.1% of ENEA. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is The State Treasury of the Republic of Poland with 52% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.1% and 5.0% 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 ENEA

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 ENEA S.A. insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own zł55k worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with ENEA (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

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.

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.