Indra continues to increase its position in Indra. The defense contractor and technology consultancy is skyrocketing its treasury stock to levels not seen since June 2012. It was shortly before the company’s major shareholder reorganization took place with the forced disinvestment of Bankia after its nationalization and the entry into its place of the state agency SEPI with almost 20% of the shares.
So far in 2024, Indra’s treasury stock has shot up from 1.36% at the end of 2024, to 1.99% of ownership, following the latest acquisitions notified to the CNMV as part of its buyback plan . The multinational broker has been fully employed in these last days of Easter. From Wednesday, March 27 to this Tuesday, April 2, the company has purchased a package of 183,000 shares for 3.5 million euros, according to data compiled by ‘La Información’.
In this way, Indra has reached the treasury stock figures that it set as its target in January and has announced that it is ending its program for acquiring its own securities two weeks in advance of April 19, its expiration date. The movement on the stock market on its own securities is taking place in the midst of the group’s stock market rise, at historical highs.
In total, Indra has exceeded 3.5 million shares in treasury stock, the aforementioned 1.99%, a package valued on the stock market at around 66.7 million euros. Since last September 21, when it barely had 0.15% of the capital in treasury stock, the stock price has skyrocketed 37% to the most expensive levels since it was listed. The investment in own shares in these last six months is around 50 million euros with latent capital gains that exceed 15 million from this activity, according to the average purchase prices and securities notified to the CNMV.
Division among analysts
Despite the rapid rise in the stock market, the community of analysts who follow Indra consider that it still has notable stock market potential, although there is a wide division among them. Spaniards are radically more optimistic than foreigners about the stock market future of the company chaired by Marc Murtra. The consensus target price compiled by Bloomberg among 20 experts now stands at an average of 20.7 euros per share, almost 10% above the closing of its stock market price this Tuesday.
The most optimistic brokers with Indra are Renta 4 and Santander with a fair price of 24.2 euros. Firms such as Bestinver and Caixabank also value the shares above 23 euros, above their price. On the other hand, on the other hand there are houses such as Mirabaud (14.6 euros), BNP Exane (15), Aphavalue (15.8), Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs or Kepler, all of them with prices below the 18 euros in which It is listed on the stock market and that leads them to consider it overvalued at this time. The presentation of Indra’s annual results was a before and after for analysts. The upward revision of valuations since February 28 has been triggered and the consensus target price has risen 22%, from 16.9 to 20.7 euros.
SEPI and its partners: 800 million in capital gains
Share movements have been key in Indra’s takeoff on the stock market long before treasury stock. SEPI’s purchases (28% of capital) between 2022 and 2023 have been second to Escribano (8%), Sapa (10%), Amber Capital (7.4%). These four shareholders have come to exceed 51% of the company’s capital, a new ‘hard core’ that did not exist until 2020. They are the great beneficiaries of the company’s stock market rally with latent capital gains compared to the acquisition cost of their shares. the 800 million euros between the four of them.
Specifically, the Government, through the SEPI, doubles the market value of what it cost to buy 28% of Indra’s capital with latent capital gains of 480 million, or 105%. Also with unrealized profits, Escribano obtains a return of 46% (84 million), SAPA Placencia de los Aperribay 58% (97 million), while Joseph Oughourlian’s ‘hedge fund’ Amber Capital would now enjoy a return if it sold of 101% (121 million) for their shares in the Spanish company.
Behind the four main shareholders of Indra is the American FMR (Fidelity Management and Research), with just over 7% through various funds, representing the largest financial shareholder outside the core, followed by T Rowe and Banco Santander, that exceed 3% of the capital in aggregate position, although in the latter case the position of the bank’s broker weighs more due to its status as a stock market liquidity provider contracted by Indra. Vanguard (2.5%), Norges Bank (1.8%) and Blackrock (1.3%) have lower stakes than usual in other Ibex 35 companies. In fact, the treasury stock accumulated by Indra is even higher. He would occupy the virtual ninth position on the owners’ table.
