Institutional owners may consider drastic measures as Iceland Seafood International hf.'s (ICE:ICESEA) recent Kr2.0b drop adds to long-term losses

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Iceland Seafood International hf's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Iceland Seafood International hf. (ICE:ICESEA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 45% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's share price fell by 11% last week. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 39% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Also referred to as "smart money", institutions have a lot of sway over how a stock's price moves. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Iceland Seafood International hf which might hurt individual investors.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Iceland Seafood International hf, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Iceland Seafood International hf

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Iceland Seafood International 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.

Iceland Seafood International 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. 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 Iceland Seafood International hf's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Iceland Seafood International hf is not owned by hedge funds. FISK Seafood ehf. is currently the largest shareholder, with 11% of shares outstanding. Sjóvá-Almennar Tryggingar Hf, Asset Management Arm is the second largest shareholder owning 10% of common stock, and Jakob Valgeir ehf holds about 9.9% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Iceland Seafood International hf

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 Iceland Seafood International hf.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It appears that the board holds about Kr16m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of Kr15b. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 24% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Iceland Seafood International hf. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 31%, of the shares on issue. 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 Iceland Seafood International hf better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Iceland Seafood International hf you should be aware of, and 2 of them are a bit concerning.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.