Yahoo Finance With 47% ownership, Wizz Air Holdings Plc (LON:WIZZ) has piqued the interest of institutional investors
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Wizz Air Holdings' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 4 shareholders own 50% of the company
Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business
A look at the shareholders of Wizz Air Holdings Plc (LON:WIZZ) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wizz Air Holdings.
See our latest analysis for Wizz Air Holdings
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wizz Air Holdings?
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.
Wizz Air Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Wizz Air Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Wizz Air Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Indigo Partners LLC is currently the largest shareholder, with 24% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 9.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Capital Research and Management Company and Baillie Gifford & Co. are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that József Váradi, the CEO has 1.4% of the shares allocated to their name.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.
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 Wizz Air Holdings
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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Wizz Air Holdings Plc. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around UK£60m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Wizz Air Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 24%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it 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. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Wizz Air Holdings (1 shouldn't be ignored) that 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.
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