Yahoo Finance With 62% institutional ownership, HelloFresh SE (ETR:HFG) is a favorite amongst the big guns
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, HelloFresh's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 15 shareholders own 52% of the company
Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
A look at the shareholders of HelloFresh SE (ETR:HFG) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 62% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of HelloFresh, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for HelloFresh
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HelloFresh?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in HelloFresh. 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 HelloFresh's 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. HelloFresh is not owned by hedge funds. The company's CEO Dominik Richter is the largest shareholder with 5.8% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.4% and 5.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 52% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of HelloFresh
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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in HelloFresh SE. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth €63m. Most would see this as a real positive. 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 29% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over HelloFresh. 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 HelloFresh better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - HelloFresh has 2 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
