First International Bank of Israel Ltd's (TLV:FIBI) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged ₪823m last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over First International Bank of Israel by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 53% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• 25% of First International Bank of Israel is held by Institutions

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If you want to know who really controls First International Bank of Israel Ltd (TLV:FIBI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 48% stake, public companies possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, public companies were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 3.2% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about First International Bank of Israel.

Check out our latest analysis for First International Bank of Israel

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About First International Bank of Israel?

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.

First International Bank of Israel already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 First International Bank of Israel, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in First International Bank of Israel. F.I.B.I. Holdings Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 48% of shares outstanding. Psagot Index Funds Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 4.5% of common stock, and More Investment House Ltd. holds about 4.1% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of First International Bank of Israel

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of First International Bank of Israel Ltd in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own ₪6.1m 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-- including retail investors -- own 26% 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 48% of the First International Bank of Israel 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand First International Bank of Israel better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for First International Bank of Israel you should know about.

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.