An excellent week for Höegh Autoliners ASA's (OB:HAUTO) institutional owners who own 48% as one-year returns inch higher

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Höegh Autoliners' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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A look at the shareholders of Höegh Autoliners ASA (OB:HAUTO) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 48% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained kr639m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 2.4% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Höegh Autoliners, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Höegh Autoliners

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Höegh Autoliners?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Höegh Autoliners. 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 Höegh Autoliners' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Höegh Autoliners. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Leif HÖEgh & Co As with 36% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 5.1% of the stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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 Höegh Autoliners

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Höegh Autoliners ASA. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth kr1.0b. Most would see this as a real positive. If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 11% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 36%, of the Höegh Autoliners stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Höegh Autoliners better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Höegh Autoliners you should be aware of, and 2 of them don't sit too well with us.

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.