Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 51% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

Every investor in Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:BW) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 37% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises.

See our latest analysis for Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises?

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.

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises 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. 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 Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 7.1% of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. B. Riley Financial, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Kenneth Young is the owner of 1.7% of the company's shares.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$9.0m worth of the US$158m company. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 21% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 29% of the Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

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.