Yahoo Finance Stadler Rail AG (VTX:SRAIL) stock most popular amongst individual investors who own 38%, while private equity firms hold 31%
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Stadler Rail AG (VTX:SRAIL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 38% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And private equity firms on the other hand have a 31% ownership in the company.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Stadler Rail.
Check out our latest analysis for Stadler Rail
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Stadler Rail?
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 Stadler Rail does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Stadler Rail, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Stadler Rail is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is PCS Holding AG with 31% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.9% by the third-largest shareholder. Peter Spuhler, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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.
Insider Ownership Of Stadler Rail
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.
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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Stadler Rail AG. Insiders own CHF520m worth of shares in the CHF3.3b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 38% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 31% stake in Stadler Rail. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Stadler Rail .
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.
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