Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of NORMA Group SE (ETR:NOEJ) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 54% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

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

Check out our latest analysis for NORMA Group

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in NORMA Group. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see NORMA Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 15% of NORMA Group. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Our data shows that Teleios Capital Partners LLC is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Capital Research and Management Company and Spice Two Investment Cooperatief U.A., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 5.0%.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 53% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

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

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.

We note our data does not show any board members holding shares, personally. Not all jurisdictions have the same rules around disclosing insider ownership, and it is possible we have missed something, here. So you can click here learn more about the CEO.

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in NORMA Group. 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.

We can see that Private Companies own 4.9%, 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.

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand NORMA Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - NORMA Group has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

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.