Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• 17% of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX:CWBU) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 44% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And so it follows that institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to €855m last week after a 5.6% drop in the share price. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 27% for stockholders, may not sit well with this group of investors. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. Hence, if weakness in Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust's share price continues, institutional investors may feel compelled to sell the stock, which might not be ideal for individual investors.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust.

See our latest analysis for Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust?

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 Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust. 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 Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust is not owned by hedge funds. Cromwell Property Securities Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.0% and 5.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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 Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust. Insiders own €146m worth of shares in the €855m 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust (at least 2 which are a bit unpleasant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.