Every investor in Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited (SGX:DU4) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 58% to be precise, is public companies. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And individual investors on the other hand have a 21% ownership in the company.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Mermaid Maritime.
What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mermaid Maritime?
We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.
There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Mermaid Maritime's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.
SGX:DU4 Earnings and Revenue Growth February 25th 2025
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Mermaid Maritime. Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 58% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 15% and 3.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Chalermchai Mahagitsiri and Prayudh Mahagitsiri are the second and third largest shareholders. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.
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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.
Insider Ownership Of Mermaid Maritime
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited. It has a market capitalization of just S$199m, and insiders have S$39m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mermaid Maritime. 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.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 58% of Mermaid Maritime stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Mermaid Maritime (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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.
