Individual investors among Ålandsbanken Abp's (HEL:ALBAV) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 15% last week

Key Insights

• Ålandsbanken Abp's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 25 shareholders own 41% of the company
• 11% of Ålandsbanken Abp is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Ålandsbanken Abp (HEL:ALBAV), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 59% to be precise, is individual investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, individual investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €544m market cap following a 15% gain in the stock.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Ålandsbanken Abp

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ålandsbanken Abp?

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 Ålandsbanken Abp does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Ålandsbanken Abp's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Ålandsbanken Abp is not owned by hedge funds. Nordea Investment Management, AB is currently the company's largest shareholder with 7.2% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.3% and 5.2% of the stock. Anders Wiklöf, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Ålandsbanken Abp

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Ålandsbanken Abp. In their own names, insiders own €41m worth of stock in the €544m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 59% of Ålandsbanken Abp shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 22%, of the Ålandsbanken Abp stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.