Retail investors invested in Genel Energy plc (LON:GENL) copped the brunt of last week's UK£23m market cap decline

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Genel Energy indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 3 shareholders own 61% of the company
• Insider ownership in Genel Energy is 26%

A look at the shareholders of Genel Energy plc (LON:GENL) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 30% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders, who own 26% shares weren’t spared from last week’s UK£23m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Genel Energy, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Genel Energy

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Genel Energy?

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.

We can see that Genel Energy does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Genel Energy's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Genel Energy is not owned by hedge funds. Bilgin Grup Dogal Gaz A.S. is currently the largest shareholder, with 24% of shares outstanding. With 19% and 18% of the shares outstanding respectively, Türkiye Is Bankasi A.S., Asset Management Arm and Hassan Gozal are the second and third largest shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Genel 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. 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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Genel Energy plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£171m, and insiders have UK£44m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 24%, 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 Genel Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Genel Energy has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.