Neste Oyj's (HEL:NESTE) largest shareholders are state or government with 37% ownership, individual investors own 32%

Key Insights

• Neste Oyj's significant state or government ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 5 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Neste Oyj is 23%

Every investor in Neste Oyj (HEL:NESTE) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are state or government with 37% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 32% of the company’s shareholders.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Neste Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Neste Oyj?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

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

Neste Oyj is not owned by hedge funds. Finland is currently the largest shareholder, with 36% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.3% and 2.4% of the stock.

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 studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Neste Oyj

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Neste Oyj in their own names. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own €33m worth of shares. Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Neste Oyj. 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 8.3% stake in Neste Oyj. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Neste Oyj , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.