Highlight Event and Entertainment AG’s (VTX:HLEE) top owners are private companies with 34% stake, while 27% is held by insiders

Key Insights

• Significant control over Highlight Event and Entertainment by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions

• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 62% ownership

• Insider ownership in Highlight Event and Entertainment is 27%

A look at the shareholders of Highlight Event and Entertainment AG (VTX:HLEE) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 34% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual insiders, on the other hand, account for 27% of the company’s stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of Highlight Event and Entertainment, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Highlight Event and Entertainment

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Highlight Event and Entertainment?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Highlight Event and Entertainment, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it’s clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it’s the future that counts most.

Highlight Event and Entertainment is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Bernhard Burgener with 24% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 20% and 18% of the stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company’s shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company’s decisions.

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. As far as we can tell there isn’t analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Story continues

Insider Ownership Of Highlight Event and Entertainment

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Highlight Event and Entertainment AG. Insiders own CHF29m worth of shares in the CHF107m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Highlight Event and Entertainment. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 26%, 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 34%, of the Highlight Event and Entertainment stock. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we’ve spotted 3 warning signs for Highlight Event and Entertainment (of which 2 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.

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.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com