State or government among Neste Oyj's (HEL:NESTE) largest shareholders, saw gain in holdings value after stock jumped 5.3% last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over Neste Oyj by state or government implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Institutional ownership in Neste Oyj is 21%

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If you want to know who really controls Neste Oyj (HEL:NESTE), 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 45% to be precise, is state or government. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, state or government were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 5.3% gain.

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?

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.

Neste Oyj already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Neste Oyj. Our data shows that Finland is the largest shareholder with 44% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 2.6% and 2.3% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 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

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Neste Oyj in their own names. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €2.7m of stock. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 34% 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.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Neste Oyj you should be aware of.

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.