Public companies among HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft's (ETR:HOT) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 3.2% last week

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Sun, Oct 29, 2023, 10:24 PM 4 min read

HOCHTIEF's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. owns 70% of the company
Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft (ETR:HOT) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 70% stake, public companies 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, public companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.2% gain.

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

View our latest analysis for HOCHTIEF

ownership-breakdown — XTRA:HOT Ownership Breakdown October 30th 2023

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HOCHTIEF?

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 HOCHTIEF 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 HOCHTIEF's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — XTRA:HOT Earnings and Revenue Growth October 30th 2023

HOCHTIEF is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. with 70% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Norges Bank Investment Management is the second largest shareholder owning 1.1% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.1% of the company stock.

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 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 HOCHTIEF

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.

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 data cannot confirm that board members are holding shares personally. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 22% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 70% of the HOCHTIEF shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand HOCHTIEF better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for HOCHTIEF you should be aware of.

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.