Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C.'s (DSM:ABQK) market cap dropped ر.ق293m last week; Retail investors bore the brunt

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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If you want to know who really controls Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C. (DSM:ABQK), 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 retail investors with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As market cap fell to ر.ق9.1b last week, retail investors would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C.

Check out our latest analysis for Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C 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. 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 Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Qatar Investment Authority with 27% of shares outstanding. With 15% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Qatar Holding LLC and Qatar Foundation, Endowment Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own ر.ق97m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 49% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C. 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 15% stake in Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

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. Take risks for example - Ahli Bank Q.P.S.C has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.