Retail investors who hold 44% of AS LHV Group (TAL:LHV1T) gained 5.2%, insiders profited as well

Key Insights

• Significant control over AS LHV Group by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 10 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in AS LHV Group is 20%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of AS LHV Group (TAL:LHV1T), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 44% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 5.2% price gain, insiders also received a 20% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of AS LHV Group.

Check out our latest analysis for AS LHV Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AS LHV Group?

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 AS LHV Group. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 AS LHV Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in AS LHV Group. Our data shows that AS LHV Varahaldus is the largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. With 11% and 7.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Andres Viisemann and Rain Lohmus are the second and third largest shareholders. Rain Lohmus, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of Supervisory Board.

We also observed that the top 10 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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 AS LHV Group

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of AS LHV Group. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful €224m stake in this €1.1b business. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 44% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 19%, of the AS LHV Group stock. 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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.