SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge ASA (OB:SB1NO) is definitely on the radar of institutional investors who own 38% of the company

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge ASA (OB:SB1NO) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 38% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge.

View our latest analysis for SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge?

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.

SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge 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 SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge is not owned by hedge funds. Sparebankstiftelsen SR-Bank, Endowment Arm is currently the company's largest shareholder with 30% of shares outstanding. With 7.1% and 2.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Government Pension Fund - Norway and State Street Global Advisors, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

We also observed that the top 8 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge ASA. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own kr64m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 28% 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.1%, of the SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge stock. 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 SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.