Private companies invested in Aker Carbon Capture ASA (OB:ACC) copped the brunt of last week's kr988m market cap decline

Key Insights

• Significant control over Aker Carbon Capture by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Recent purchases by insiders

Every investor in Aker Carbon Capture ASA (OB:ACC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to kr8.6b last week, private companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Aker Carbon Capture, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Aker Carbon Capture

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aker Carbon Capture?

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 Aker Carbon Capture. 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 Aker Carbon Capture's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Aker Carbon Capture is not owned by hedge funds. The Resource Group TRG AS is currently the largest shareholder, with 43% of shares outstanding. With 2.3% and 2.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Folketrygdfondet and Handelsbanken Asset Management are the second and third largest shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Aker Carbon Capture

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Aker Carbon Capture ASA. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about kr2.3m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of kr8.6b. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Aker Carbon Capture. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 43%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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 Aker Carbon Capture you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.