While institutions invested in Better Collective A/S (STO:BETCO) benefited from last week's 4.2% gain, private companies stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• Better Collective's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• Institutions own 31% of Better Collective

If you want to know who really controls Better Collective A/S (STO:BETCO), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 38% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 4.2% increase in the stock price last week, private companies profited the most, but institutions who own 31% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Better Collective.

Check out our latest analysis for Better Collective

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Better Collective?

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 Better Collective does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Better Collective's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Better Collective is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Bumble Ventures A/S is the largest shareholder with 34% of shares outstanding. BLS Capital Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker Aktieselskab holds about 4.0% of the company stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 Better Collective

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Better Collective A/S. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth kr897m. 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 26% 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 38%, of the Better Collective stock. 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. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Better Collective that you should be aware of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.