Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in Wizz Air Holdings implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price The top 5 shareholders own 54% of the company Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Wizz Air Holdings Plc (LON:WIZZ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 13% last week. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 41% 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. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Wizz Air Holdings which might hurt individual investors.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Wizz Air Holdings.

See our latest analysis for Wizz Air Holdings LSE:WIZZ Ownership Breakdown January 14th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wizz Air Holdings?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Wizz Air Holdings. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Wizz Air Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.LSE:WIZZ Earnings and Revenue Growth January 14th 2025

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Wizz Air Holdings. Indigo Partners LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 24% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.3% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO József Váradi directly holds 1.5% of the total shares outstanding.

Story Continues

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Wizz Air Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 can see that insiders own shares in Wizz Air Holdings Plc. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own UK£28m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 17% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Wizz Air Holdings. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 24% stake in Wizz Air Holdings. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. 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:

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk.  We've identified 2 warning signs  with Wizz Air Holdings , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately  it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

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