Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Stabilus' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

• 52% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders

• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in Stabilus SE (ETR:STM) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 80% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And so it follows that institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to €958m last week after a 6.5% drop in the share price. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 22% for shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. Hence, if weakness in Stabilus' share price continues, institutional investors may feel compelled to sell the stock, which might not be ideal for individual investors.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Stabilus.

View our latest analysis for Stabilus

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Stabilus?

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

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 10% of Stabilus. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Goldman Sachs Group, Investment Banking and Securities Investments is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 10%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.