Key Insights

• Vossloh's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

• Stella VermÖGensverwaltungs- Gmbh owns 50% of the company

• Institutional ownership in Vossloh is 17%

If you want to know who really controls Vossloh AG (ETR:VOS), 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 private companies with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 33% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Vossloh.

See our latest analysis for Vossloh

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vossloh?

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.

Vossloh already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Vossloh's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Vossloh. Stella VermÖGensverwaltungs- Gmbh is currently the company's largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. Franklin Resources, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 2.9% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 2.0% of the company stock.

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 Vossloh

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Given we are not picking up on insider ownership, we may have missing data. Therefore, it would be interesting to assess the CEO compensation and tenure, here.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Vossloh. 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 50%, of the Vossloh stock. 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:

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Vossloh you should know about.

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.