Private equity firms account for 48% of Koninklijke Vopak N.V.'s (AMS:VPK) ownership, while individual investors account for 27%
Key Insights
Significant control over Koninklijke Vopak by private equity firms implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
If you want to know who really controls Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (AMS:VPK), 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 equity firms with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And individual investors on the other hand have a 27% ownership in the company.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Koninklijke Vopak, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for Koninklijke Vopak
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Koninklijke Vopak?
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 Koninklijke Vopak 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. 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 Koninklijke Vopak, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Koninklijke Vopak. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is HAL Investments B.V. with 48% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd and Maple-Brown Abbott, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 3.0%.
A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.
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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.
Insider Ownership Of Koninklijke Vopak
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. 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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Koninklijke Vopak N.V.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around €121m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Koninklijke Vopak. 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 Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 48%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Koninklijke Vopak is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...
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.
