Both individual investors who control a good portion of Outokumpu Oyj (HEL:OUT1V) along with institutions must be dismayed after last week's 3.6% decrease

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Outokumpu Oyj indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 21 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Outokumpu Oyj is 30%

Every investor in Outokumpu Oyj (HEL:OUT1V) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 51% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions, who own 30% shares weren’t spared from last week’s €56m market cap drop, individual investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Outokumpu Oyj, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Outokumpu Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Outokumpu 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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Outokumpu Oyj. Our data shows that Solidium Oy is the largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.6% and 3.5% of the stock.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 21 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Outokumpu Oyj

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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Outokumpu Oyj. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth €22m. Most would see this as a real positive. Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 51% of Outokumpu Oyj. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Outokumpu Oyj better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Outokumpu Oyj .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.