Breaking Down Bahamas Petroleum Company plc's (LON:BPC) Ownership Structure

In this analysis, my focus will be on developing a perspective on Bahamas Petroleum Company plc’s (AIM:BPC) latest ownership structure, a less discussed, but important factor. The impact of a company's ownership structure affects both its short- and long-term performance. The effect of an active institutional investor with a similar ownership as a passive pension-fund can be vastly different on a company's corporate governance and accountability to shareholders. While this may be more interesting for long-term investors, short-term investors can also benefit by paying attention to when these institutions trade in order to take advantage of the heightened volatility. Therefore, I will take a look at BPC's shareholders in more detail.

Check out our latest analysis for Bahamas Petroleum

Institutional Ownership

With an institutional ownership of 24.43%, BPC can face volatile stock price movements if institutions execute block trades on the open market, more so, when there are relatively small amounts of shares available on the market to trade These moves, at least in the short-term, are generally observed in an institutional ownership mix comprising of active stock pickers, in particular levered hedge funds, which can cause large price swings. For BPC shareholders, the potential of this type of share price volatility shouldn't be as concerning as hedge fund ownership is is not significant,indicating few chances of such sudden price moves. While that hardly seems concerning, I will explore further into BPC's ownership type to find out how it can affect the company’s investment profile.

Insider Ownership

Insiders form another group of important ownership types as they manage the company's operations and decide the best use of capital. Insider ownership has been linked to better alignment between management and shareholders. Although individuals in BPC hold only a minor stake, it's a good sign for shareholders as the company's executives and directors have their incentives directly linked to the company's performance. In addition to this, it may be interesting to look at insider buying and selling activities. Keep in mind that buying may be sign of upbeat future expectations, but selling doesn't necessarily mean the opposite as the insiders might just be doing it out of their personal financial needs.

General Public Ownership

A big stake of 75.37% in BPC is held by the general public. This size of ownership gives retail investors collective power in deciding on major policy decisions such as executive compensation, appointment of directors and acquisitions of businesses. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and potential acquisitions. This is a positive sign for an investor who wants to be involved in key decision-making of the company.

Next Steps:

The company's high institutional ownership makes margin of safety a very important consideration to existing investors since long bull and bear trends often emerge when these big-ticket investors see a change in long-term potential of the company. This will enable shareholders to comfortably invest in the company while avoid getting trapped in a sustained sell-off that is often observed in stocks with this level of institutional participation. However, if you are building an investment case for BPC, ownership structure alone should not dictate your decision to buy or sell the stock. Rather, you should be examining fundamental factors such as Bahamas Petroleum's past track record and financial health. I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:

1. Financial Health: Is BPC’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
2. Past Track Record: Has BPC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of BPC's historicals for more clarity.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks 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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Simply Wall St has no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article is general in nature. 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.
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