Hampiðjan hf.'s (ICE:HAMP) biggest owners are private companies who got richer after stock soared 9.8% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Hampiðjan hf indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in Hampiðjan hf is 16%

A look at the shareholders of Hampiðjan hf. (ICE:HAMP) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 40% to be precise, is private companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by Kr8.1b last week.

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

View our latest analysis for Hampiðjan hf

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hampiðjan hf?

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.

Hampiðjan hf already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Hampiðjan hf, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Hampiðjan hf. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Hvalur Hf with 36% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.9% and 3.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Hampiðjan hf

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Hampiðjan hf.. It has a market capitalization of just Kr91b, and insiders have Kr7.5b worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 35% 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 40%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Hampiðjan hf better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Hampiðjan hf (2 are significant) that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.