Stora Enso Oyj's (HEL:STERV) top owners are retail investors with 39% stake, while 39% is held by institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over Stora Enso Oyj by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 49% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Stora Enso Oyj is 39%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Stora Enso Oyj (HEL:STERV), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Institutions, on the other hand, account for 39% of the company's stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

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

See our latest analysis for Stora Enso Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Stora Enso 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.

Stora Enso 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 Stora Enso Oyj's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Stora Enso Oyj. Our data shows that Solidium Oy is the largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10% and 3.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Stora Enso 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Stora Enso Oyj. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. 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 €7.2m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 11%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Stora Enso Oyj better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.

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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.