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
• 52% of the company is held by a single shareholder (HAL Investments B.V.)
• Institutional ownership in Koninklijke Vopak is 20%

We've discovered 1 warning sign about Koninklijke Vopak. View them for free.

A look at the shareholders of Koninklijke Vopak N.V. (AMS:VPK) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is private equity firms. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 29% of the company's stockholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Koninklijke Vopak, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Koninklijke Vopak

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Koninklijke Vopak?

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.

Koninklijke Vopak already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Koninklijke Vopak's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

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 52% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 3.2% and 2.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 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 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.

Our information suggests that Koninklijke Vopak N.V. insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own €3.6m worth of shares. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 29% stake in 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 52%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Koninklijke Vopak better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Koninklijke Vopak is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.