Fortum Oyj (HEL:FORTUM) stock most popular amongst state or government who own 52%, while individual investors hold 32%

Key Insights

• Significant control over Fortum Oyj by state or government implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is State of Finland with a 51% stake
• Institutions own 16% of Fortum Oyj

A look at the shareholders of Fortum Oyj (HEL:FORTUM) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is state or government. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

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

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

View our latest analysis for Fortum Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fortum 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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Fortum Oyj. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Fortum Oyj, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Fortum Oyj. State of Finland is currently the largest shareholder, with 51% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. Ilmarinen Pension Insurance Co. Ltd, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 2.2% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 2.1% of the company stock.

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 Fortum 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.

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 Fortum Oyj. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own €5.5m worth of shares (at current prices). 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 32% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Fortum Oyj better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Fortum Oyj (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

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.