While individual investors own 27% of Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1), private companies are its largest shareholders with 50% ownership
Key Insights
Significant control over Hannover Rück by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
The largest shareholder of the company is HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G. with a 50% stake
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hannover Rück SE (ETR:HNR1), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 27% of the company's stockholders.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Hannover Rück, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Hannover Rück
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hannover Rück?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Hannover Rück. 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 Hannover Rück's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hannover Rück is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G., with ownership of 50%. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are FMR LLC and BlackRock, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 3.0%.
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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Hannover Rück
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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. It is unusual not to have at least some personal holdings by board members, so our data might be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in Hannover Rück. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 50%, of the company's shares. 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.
I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.