Key Insights

Wagners Holding's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion The top 5 shareholders own 55% of the company Insiders have been buying lately

If you want to know who really controls Wagners Holding Company Limited (ASX:WGN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 48% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Notably, insiders have bought shares recently. This might indicate that they expect share prices to rise in the near future.

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

View our latest analysis for Wagners Holding  ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wagners Holding?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Wagners Holding 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. 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 Wagners Holding's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters. earnings-and-revenue-growth

Wagners Holding is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Denis Wagner, with ownership of 13%. The second and third largest shareholders are Neill Wagner and John Wagner, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 12%. John Wagner, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

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.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Wagners Holding

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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Wagners Holding Company Limited. Insiders have a AU$73m stake in this AU$150m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can  click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 33% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 12%, 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Wagners Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified  2 warning signs for Wagners Holding (1 can't be ignored)  that 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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