Conrad Asia Energy Ltd.'s (ASX:CRD) stock price dropped 11% last week; retail investors would not be happy

Key Insights

• Conrad Asia Energy's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insider ownership in Conrad Asia Energy is 20%

A look at the shareholders of Conrad Asia Energy Ltd. (ASX:CRD) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 40% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, retail investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by AU$18m.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Conrad Asia Energy.

Check out our latest analysis for Conrad Asia Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Conrad Asia Energy?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Less than 5% of Conrad Asia Energy is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Conrad Asia Energy. The company's largest shareholder is Inspired International Limited, with ownership of 10%. Transworld Oil Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.6% of common stock, and Giant Green Resources Ltd holds about 8.1% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Miltiadis Xynogalas is the owner of 1.5% of the company's shares.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Conrad Asia Energy

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Conrad Asia Energy Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just AU$151m, and insiders have AU$31m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Conrad Asia Energy. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 37%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Conrad Asia Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Conrad Asia Energy (1 is a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com