Pick n Pay Stores Limited's (JSE:PIK) high institutional ownership speaks for itself as stock continues to impress, up 7.7% over last week

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Pick n Pay Stores implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 6 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of Pick n Pay Stores Limited (JSE:PIK) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 58% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 7.7% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 36% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Pick n Pay Stores.

View our latest analysis for Pick n Pay Stores

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Pick n Pay Stores?

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.

We can see that Pick n Pay Stores does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Pick n Pay Stores' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Pick n Pay Stores. Ackerman Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 26% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 4.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Public Investment Corporation Limited and FMR LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Pick n Pay Stores

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Pick n Pay Stores Limited. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own R161m 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 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Pick n Pay Stores. 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.

Next Steps:

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

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.

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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.