Hedge funds own 28% of Saturn Oil & Gas Inc. (TSE:SOIL) shares but retail investors control 55% of the company

editorial-team@simplywallst.com (Simply Wall St)

Wed, Dec 11, 2024, 5:54 AM 4 min read

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. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 55% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, hedge funds make up 28% of the company’s shareholders.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Saturn Oil & Gas, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Saturn Oil & Gas

ownership-breakdown — TSX:SOIL Ownership Breakdown December 11th 2024

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Saturn Oil & Gas?

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 Saturn Oil & Gas. 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. 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.

earnings-and-revenue-growth — TSX:SOIL Earnings and Revenue Growth December 11th 2024

It looks like hedge funds own 28% of Saturn Oil & Gas shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. The company's largest shareholder is GMT Capital Corp., with ownership of 28%. Libra Advisors, LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 8.3% of common stock, and PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. holds about 2.2% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Saturn Oil & Gas

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$443m, and insiders have CA$10m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 55% of Saturn Oil & Gas. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

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 3 warning signs for Saturn Oil & Gas (1 is a bit concerning) 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.