Retail investors among Flat Capital AB (publ)'s (STO:FLAT B) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 14% price drop

Key Insights

• Flat Capital's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 6 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders own 32% of Flat Capital

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Flat Capital AB (publ) (STO:FLAT B), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders, who own 32% shares weren’t spared from last week’s kr168m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

See our latest analysis for Flat Capital

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Flat Capital?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Flat Capital. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Flat Capital's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Flat Capital is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Sebastian Siemiatkowski, with ownership of 21%. Dusco Ab is the second largest shareholder owning 9.2% of common stock, and Nina Siemiatkowski holds about 7.9% of the company stock.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Flat Capital

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Flat Capital AB (publ). Insiders own kr337m worth of shares in the kr1.1b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in Flat Capital. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 18%, of the company's shares. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Flat Capital (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.