Insiders of Clas Ohlson AB (publ) (STO:CLAS B) must be disappointed as stock fell 3.1% after recent purchases

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Clas Ohlson's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 56% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Clas Ohlson AB (publ) (STO:CLAS B), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 43% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And looking at our data, we can see that insiders have bought shares recently. So the news of stock price falling by 3.1% is not something they might have been expecting soon after purchasing shares.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Clas Ohlson

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Clas Ohlson?

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 Clas Ohlson. 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 Clas Ohlson's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Clas Ohlson. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Helena Tidstrand with 12% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 9.9% by the third-largest shareholder.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. 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 Clas Ohlson

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 a reasonable proportion of Clas Ohlson AB (publ). Insiders own kr9.7b worth of shares in the kr22b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Clas Ohlson. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Clas Ohlson better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Clas Ohlson has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.