MT Højgaard Holding A/S (CPH:MTHH) institutional owners may be pleased with recent gains after 2.1% loss over the past year

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies MT Højgaard Holding's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 57% ownership
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of MT Højgaard Holding A/S (CPH:MTHH), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 69% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors would probably welcome last week's 18% increase in the share price after a year of 2.1% losses as a sign that returns may to begin trending higher.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about MT Højgaard Holding.

Check out our latest analysis for MT Højgaard Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MT Højgaard Holding?

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.

We can see that MT Højgaard Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see MT Højgaard Holding's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in MT Højgaard Holding. Our data shows that Knud Hojgaards Fond, Endowment Arm is the largest shareholder with 47% of shares outstanding. Ejnar og Meta Thorsens Fond, Endowment Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 9.9% of common stock, and Nordea Investment Management, AB holds about 5.4% of the company stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 57% stake.

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

Insider Ownership Of MT Højgaard Holding

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.

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 MT Højgaard Holding A/S. As individuals, the insiders collectively own kr.14m worth of the kr.1.3b company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. 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 28% stake in MT Højgaard Holding. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for MT Højgaard Holding you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.