Harboes Bryggeri A/S' (CPH:HARB B) market cap rose kr.156m last week; individual investors who hold 48% profited and so did insiders

Key Insights

• Significant control over Harboes Bryggeri by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 30% of Harboes Bryggeri is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Harboes Bryggeri A/S (CPH:HARB B), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s kr.156m market cap gain, insiders too had a 30% share in those profits.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Harboes Bryggeri.

See our latest analysis for Harboes Bryggeri

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Harboes Bryggeri?

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 Harboes Bryggeri. 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. 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 Harboes Bryggeri, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Harboes Bryggeri is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Nordea Investment Management, AB, with ownership of 12%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.2% and 8.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Bernhard Griese, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

We also observed that the top 7 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Harboes Bryggeri

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 a reasonable proportion of Harboes Bryggeri A/S. Insiders own kr.262m worth of shares in the kr.866m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Harboes Bryggeri. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 9.2%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Harboes Bryggeri .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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