Key Insights
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Saturn Oil & Gas’ significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
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A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 46% ownership
If you want to know who really controls Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. (TSE:SOIL), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion’s share in the company with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Hedge funds, on the other hand, account for 37% of the company’s stockholders.
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of Saturn Oil & Gas, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Saturn Oil & Gas
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Saturn Oil & Gas?
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.
Saturn Oil & Gas already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Saturn Oil & Gas, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
It looks like hedge funds own 37% of Saturn Oil & Gas shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. GMT Capital Corp. is currently the largest shareholder, with 25% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 2.7% of the stock.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 22 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.
Insider Ownership Of Saturn Oil & Gas
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 report that insiders do own shares in Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own CA$7.0m worth of the CA$320m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Saturn Oil & Gas shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Saturn Oil & Gas better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we’ve identified 4 warning signs for Saturn Oil & Gas that you should be aware of.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
