To get a sense of who is truly in control of SKAN Group AG (VTX:SKAN), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 49% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit CHF1.4b market cap following a 3.8% gain in the stock.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of SKAN Group, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for SKAN Group
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.
We can see that SKAN Group 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of SKAN Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
SKAN Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that H. C. Michel is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Gregor Plattner and Vera Plattner, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 11%. Additionally, the company's CEO Thomas Huber directly holds 1.7% of the total shares outstanding.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 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.
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.
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 a reasonable proportion of SKAN Group AG. It has a market capitalization of just CHF1.4b, and insiders have CHF692m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.
With a 18% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over SKAN Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand SKAN Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for SKAN Group you should know about.
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.