Fortum Oyj's (HEL:FORTUM) biggest owners are state or government who got richer after stock soared 4.3% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in Fortum Oyj indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• Finland owns 51% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Fortum Oyj (HEL:FORTUM) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 52% stake, state or government possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, state or government collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit €12b market cap following a 4.3% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Fortum Oyj.

View our latest analysis for Fortum Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Fortum 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.

Fortum 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. 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. Our data shows that Finland is the largest shareholder with 51% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. The second and third largest shareholders are Ilmarinen Pension Insurance Co. Ltd, Asset Management Arm and BlackRock, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 2.0%.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Fortum 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.

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. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own €2.4m of stock. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 29% stake in Fortum Oyj. 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:

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. To that end, you should learn about the 6 warning signs we've spotted with Fortum Oyj (including 3 which shouldn't be ignored) .

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.