SpareBank 1 Østlandet's (OB:SPOL) high institutional ownership speaks for itself as stock continues to impress, up 3.9% over last week

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies SpareBank 1 Østlandet's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The largest shareholder of the company is Sparebankstiftelsen Hedmark, Endowment Arm with a 52% stake
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 83% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Last week’s 3.9% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. One-year return to shareholders is currently 31% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

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?

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.

We can see that SpareBank 1 Østlandet does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Østlandet, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SpareBank 1 Østlandet. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Sparebankstiftelsen Hedmark, Endowment Arm 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. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.6% and 5.0% of the stock.

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 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

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of SpareBank 1 Østlandet in their own names. 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 kr28m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 15% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. 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.