Yahoo Finance With 41% ownership, Grenke AG (ETR:GLJ) insiders have a lot riding on the company's future
Key Insights
Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Grenke's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
50% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
Every investor in Grenke AG (ETR:GLJ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 41% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
So, insiders of Grenke have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Grenke, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Grenke
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Grenke?
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 Grenke 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 Grenke's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Grenke. Wolfgang Grenke is currently the company's largest shareholder with 41% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.4% and 7.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
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 Grenke
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 a reasonable proportion of Grenke AG. Insiders own €429m worth of shares in the €1.0b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
With a 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Grenke. 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
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.2%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Grenke better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Grenke (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .
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.
