State or government account for 50% of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA's (OB:KOG) ownership, while institutions account for 26%

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by state or government in Kongsberg Gruppen indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is Nærings- Og Fiskeridepartementet with a 50% stake
• Institutional ownership in Kongsberg Gruppen is 26%

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (OB:KOG), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is state or government. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 26% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

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

See our latest analysis for Kongsberg Gruppen

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kongsberg Gruppen?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Kongsberg Gruppen. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Kongsberg Gruppen's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Kongsberg Gruppen. The company's largest shareholder is Nærings- Og Fiskeridepartementet, with ownership of 50%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 5.6% and 3.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Government Pension Fund - Norway and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Kongsberg Gruppen

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.

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 Kongsberg Gruppen ASA insiders own under 1% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own kr2.2b worth of shares. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 20% stake in Kongsberg Gruppen. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Kongsberg Gruppen better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.