Retail investors among Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (publ)'s (STO:SES) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 18% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over Scandinavian Enviro Systems by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 21 investors have a majority stake in the company with 40% ownership
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (publ) (STO:SES) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 18%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Scandinavian Enviro Systems.

Check out our latest analysis for Scandinavian Enviro Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Scandinavian Enviro Systems?

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.

We can see that Scandinavian Enviro Systems does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Scandinavian Enviro Systems' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Scandinavian Enviro Systems. Our data shows that Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin Société en commandite par actions is the largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.6% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

Our studies suggest that the top 21 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Scandinavian Enviro Systems

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Scandinavian Enviro Systems AB (publ). As individuals, the insiders collectively own kr57m worth of the kr1.6b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 49% stake in Scandinavian Enviro Systems. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 16% of the Scandinavian Enviro Systems shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Scandinavian Enviro Systems (of which 3 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

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.