Every investor in Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. (ICE: VIS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. In general, as a business grows, organizations will increase their ownership. However, insiders often reduce their ownership over time. Companies that were previously publicly owned tend to have smaller insider assets.

Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf is not a large company on an international scale. It has a market capitalization of Kr39b, which means it would not attract the attention of many institutional investors. In the table below we can see that institutions are prominent in the share register. Let’s take a closer look at what different shareholders can tell us about Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf.

Check out our latest analysis for Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf

What does the institutional property tell us about Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf?

Initial investors generally compare their own returns with the returns of an index that is often followed. So they generally consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors own a fair share in Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. This indicates some credibility among professional investors. But we can not rely on the fact alone that institutions sometimes invest poorly, just as everyone does. When many institutions own shares, there is always a risk that they will be in “crowded trading”. When such trades go wrong, many parties can compete to sell stocks quickly. This risk is greater in companies without a growth history. You can see the historical income and income of Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf below, but keep in mind that there is always more to the story.

As institutional investors own more than half of the issued share capital, the board will probably have to consider their wishes. Hedge funds do not own many shares in Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. Lífeyrissjóður verslunarmanna is now the company’s largest shareholder with 9.7% of the outstanding shares. At the same time, the second and third largest shareholders own 9.3% and 8.2% of the share capital in outstanding shares.

On closer inspection, we found that more than half of the company’s shares are owned by the 7 best shareholders, which indicates that the interests of larger shareholders are to a certain extent balanced by the smaller ones.

While it makes sense to research corporate property records for companies, it also makes sense to research the feelings of professionals to know in which direction the wind is blowing. We are not recording any analysts’ coverage of the stock at this time, so it is unlikely that the company will be highly valued.

Insider assets of Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf

The definition of an insider may differ slightly from country to country, but board members always count. The management finally responds to the board. However, it is not uncommon for executives to be executives, especially if they are founders or CEOs.

I generally believe that insider trading is a good thing. In some cases, however, it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We note that our records do not show any directors who own shares, personally. It is unusual not to have at least the personal property of board members, so our data could be flawed. A good next step would be to check how much the CEO is paid.

Public property

With 29% ownership, the public has some control over Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf. While this group may not necessarily call for shots, it can certainly have a real impact on the way the company operates.

Ownership of private companies

We can see that private companies own 7.1% of the share capital in the issue. It might be worth taking a closer look. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, this should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies can also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next steps:

While it is well worth considering different groups that own businesses, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risk, for example. Every company has them and we have found out 1 warning sign for Vátryggingafélag Íslands hf you should know about.

If you want to look at another company – one with possibly better finances – do not miss this free list of interesting companies, supported by strong financial data.

NOTE: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to a 12-month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not be in line with the figures for the year’s results.

This article by Simply Wall St is of a general nature. We provide comments based on historical data and analysts’ forecasts solely through a neutral methodology and our articles are not intended for financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell shares and does not take into account your goals or your financial situation. We aim to bring you a long-term focused analysis driven by basic data. Please note that our analysis may not affect the latest price sensitive company announcements or qualitative content. Simply Wall St has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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