Institutional investors are Accor SA's (EPA:AC) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's €269m market cap gain
Simply Wall St · 09/15 05:32

Key Insights

  • Institutions' substantial holdings in Accor implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
  • 51% of the business is held by the top 7 shareholders
  • Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Accor SA (EPA:AC) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 30% stake, institutions 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).

Last week’s 3.1% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. One-year return to shareholders is currently 42% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Accor, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Accor

ownership-breakdown
ENXTPA:AC Ownership Breakdown September 15th 2023

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Accor?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Accor. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Accor's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
ENXTPA:AC Earnings and Revenue Growth September 15th 2023

It looks like hedge funds own 6.9% of Accor shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Jinjiang International Holdings Co.,Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. Qatar Investment Authority is the second largest shareholder owning 8.7% of common stock, and Parvus Asset Management Europe Limited holds about 6.9% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 7 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.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. 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 Accor

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 information suggests that Accor SA insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €16m of stock. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 22% stake in Accor. 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

Private equity firms hold a 6.4% stake in Accor. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 18%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 6.1% of the Accor shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Accor better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Accor 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.