Aktieselskabet Schouw & Co.'s (CPH:SCHO) biggest owners are private companies who got richer after stock soared 5.2% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Aktieselskabet Schouw indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 21% of Aktieselskabet Schouw is held by Institutions

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Aktieselskabet Schouw & Co. (CPH:SCHO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 44% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit kr.14b market cap following a 5.2% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Aktieselskabet Schouw.

Check out our latest analysis for Aktieselskabet Schouw

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aktieselskabet Schouw?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Aktieselskabet Schouw. 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 Aktieselskabet Schouw's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Aktieselskabet Schouw is not owned by hedge funds. Givesco A/S is currently the company's largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Aktieselskabet Schouw

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Aktieselskabet Schouw & Co.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around kr.334m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Aktieselskabet Schouw. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 44%, 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:

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.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.