Institutional investors in SpareBank 1 Østlandet (OB:SPOL) see kr556m decrease in market cap last week, although long-term gains have benefitted them.

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in SpareBank 1 Østlandet implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The largest shareholder of the company is Sparebankstiftelsen Hedmark, Endowment Arm with a 52% stake
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

If you want to know who really controls SpareBank 1 Østlandet (OB:SPOL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 83% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to kr14b last week. However, the 14% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

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

See our latest analysis for SpareBank 1 Østlandet

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SpareBank 1 Østlandet?

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 SpareBank 1 Østlandet. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at SpareBank 1 Østlandet's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. SpareBank 1 Østlandet is not owned by hedge funds. Sparebankstiftelsen Hedmark, Endowment Arm is currently the company's largest shareholder with 52% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 9.6% and 5.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Landsorganisasjonen I Norge, Endowment Arm and Pareto Asset Management AS are the second and third largest shareholders.

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 SpareBank 1 Østlandet

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 information suggests that SpareBank 1 Østlandet insiders own under 1% of the company. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around kr26m 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in SpareBank 1 Østlandet. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for SpareBank 1 Østlandet 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.