Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A.'s (ELI:JMT) top owners are private companies with 56% stake, while 22% is held by individual investors

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Jerónimo Martins SGPS indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Sociedade Francisco Manuel Dos Santos, S.G.P.S., S.E. owns 56% of the company
• Institutions own 22% of Jerónimo Martins SGPS

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A look at the shareholders of Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A. (ELI:JMT) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And individual investors on the other hand have a 22% ownership in the company.

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

View our latest analysis for Jerónimo Martins SGPS

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jerónimo Martins SGPS?

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.

We can see that Jerónimo Martins SGPS 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 Jerónimo Martins SGPS' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Jerónimo Martins SGPS. Sociedade Francisco Manuel Dos Santos, S.G.P.S., S.E. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 56% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 1.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Jerónimo Martins SGPS

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 Jerónimo Martins, SGPS, S.A. in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own €5.9m worth of shares. 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

With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Jerónimo Martins SGPS. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 56%, of the Jerónimo Martins SGPS stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.