While institutions own 35% of Spar Nord Bank A/S (CPH:SPNO), retail investors are its largest shareholders with 44% ownership

Key Insights

• Spar Nord Bank's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Recent purchases by insiders

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. With 44% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, institutions make up 35% of the company’s shareholders. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Spar Nord Bank, beginning with the chart below.

See 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.

Spar Nord Bank already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Spar Nord Bank's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Spar Nord Bank is not owned by hedge funds. Spar Nord Fonden, Endowment Arm is currently the largest shareholder, with 21% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 20% and 3.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Spar Nord Bank

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Spar Nord Bank A/S. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around kr.53m worth of shares (at current prices). It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 44% stake in 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Spar Nord Bank better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Spar Nord Bank (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com