Spar Nord Bank A/S' (CPH:SPNO) 5.4% loss last week hit both individual investors who own 48% as well as institutions

If you want to know who really controls Spar Nord Bank A/S (CPH:SPNO), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 48% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 5.4% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but institutions who own 32% stock also took a hit.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Spar Nord Bank.

View our latest analysis for Spar Nord Bank

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Spar Nord Bank?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Spar Nord Bank. 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. 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 Spar Nord Bank, (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 Spar Nord Bank. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Spar Nord Fonden, Endowment Arm with 19% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 14% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 20 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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

Insider Ownership Of Spar Nord Bank

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.

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 Spar Nord Bank A/S insiders own under 1% of the company. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own kr.39m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Spar Nord Bank. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Spar Nord Bank you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

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.