What Type Of Shareholders Own The Most Number of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A (NYSE:BLX) Shares?
If you want to know who really controls Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A (NYSE:BLX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
With a market capitalization of US$604m, Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior.
See our latest analysis for Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior?
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.
Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior 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. 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 Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, (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 Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Brandes Investment Partners, L.P. with 16% of shares outstanding. Principal Global Investors, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 5.8% of common stock, and Banco de la Nacion Argentina, Asset Management Arm holds about 3.4% of the company stock.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.
Insider Ownership Of Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior
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.
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 Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It seems the board members have no more than US$5.0m worth of shares in the US$604m company. I generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public, mostly retail investors, hold a substantial 50% stake in Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.
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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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