A great week that adds to Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ)'s (STO:WIHL) one-year returns, institutional investors who own 47% must be happy

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Wihlborgs Fastigheter implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 18 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ) (STO:WIHL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. 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 kr2.0b in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 9.3% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wihlborgs Fastigheter.

Check out our latest analysis for Wihlborgs Fastigheter

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wihlborgs Fastigheter?

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 Wihlborgs Fastigheter. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Wihlborgs Fastigheter's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Wihlborgs Fastigheter. Our data shows that Backahill AB is the largest shareholder with 11% of shares outstanding. Swedbank Robur Fonder AB is the second largest shareholder owning 5.9% of common stock, and SEB Investment Management AB holds about 5.7% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 18 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of Wihlborgs Fastigheter

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 see that insiders own shares in Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB (publ). It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around kr387m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Wihlborgs Fastigheter. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 11%, 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Wihlborgs Fastigheter better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Wihlborgs Fastigheter (at least 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.