Per Aarsleff Holding A/S' (CPH:PAAL B) institutional investors lost 6.4% over the past week but have profited from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Per Aarsleff Holding's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 10 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Per Aarsleff Holding A/S (CPH:PAAL B), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 54% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to kr.6.8b last week. However, the 20% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. We would assume however, that they would be on the lookout for weakness in the future.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Per Aarsleff Holding, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Per Aarsleff Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Per Aarsleff 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 Per Aarsleff Holding does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Per Aarsleff Holding's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Per Aarsleff Holding. Per og Lise Aarsleffs Fond is currently the largest shareholder, with 16% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 9.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension (Atp) and Bi Asset Management FondsmÆGlerselskab A/S are the second and third largest shareholders.

We did some more digging and found that 10 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 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 a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Per Aarsleff 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.

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 Per Aarsleff Holding A/S insiders own under 1% of the company. It seems the board members have no more than kr.50m worth of shares in the kr.6.8b company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Per Aarsleff Holding. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Per Aarsleff Holding better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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.

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