Individual investors who hold 45% of Harvia Oyj (HEL:HARVIA) gained 12%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• Harvia Oyj's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders have been selling lately

Every investor in Harvia Oyj (HEL:HARVIA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 45% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s €47m market cap gain, institutions too had a 38% share in those profits.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Harvia Oyj.

Check out our latest analysis for Harvia Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Harvia Oyj?

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.

Harvia Oyj already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Harvia Oyj's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Harvia Oyj. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is SEB Investment Management AB with 6.1% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 4.4% and 3.7% of the stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 25 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Harvia Oyj

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can see that insiders own shares in Harvia Oyj. It has a market capitalization of just €445m, and insiders have €23m worth of shares, in their own names. 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-- including retail investors -- own 45% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 13%, of the Harvia Oyj 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:

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 2 warning signs we've spotted with Harvia Oyj .

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.