Yahoo Finance After losing 12% in the past year, Kingfisher plc (LON:KGF) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain
A look at the shareholders of Kingfisher plc (LON:KGF) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 77% ownership. 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 UK£223m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 12% losses.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Kingfisher.
Check out our latest analysis for Kingfisher
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kingfisher?
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 Kingfisher. 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 Kingfisher's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Kingfisher. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Silchester International Investors LLP with 11% of shares outstanding. With 9.1% and 4.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Mondrian Investment Partners Limited and Norges Bank Investment Management are the second and third largest shareholders.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Kingfisher
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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 Kingfisher plc insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around UK£4.9m worth of shares (at current prices). 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
With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Kingfisher. 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.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Kingfisher you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
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