Insiders with their considerable ownership were the key benefactors as SRT Marine Systems plc (LON:SRT) touches UK£77m market cap

Key Insights

• SRT Marine Systems' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 10 shareholders own 52% of the company
• 28% of SRT Marine Systems is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of SRT Marine Systems plc (LON:SRT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 28% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by UK£22m last week.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about SRT Marine Systems.

View our latest analysis for SRT Marine Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SRT Marine Systems?

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.

SRT Marine Systems already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at SRT Marine Systems' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

SRT Marine Systems is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Ocean Infinity Ltd. with 9.3% of shares outstanding. With 9.0% and 6.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Alpha Cell Ltd and Simon Rogers are the second and third largest shareholders. Simon Rogers, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, CEO Simon Tucker is the owner of 1.5% of the company's shares.

We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of SRT Marine Systems

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

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in SRT Marine Systems plc. Insiders own UK£22m worth of shares in the UK£77m company. 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, who are usually individual investors, hold a 25% stake in SRT Marine Systems. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 18%, of the SRT Marine Systems stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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 instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for SRT Marine Systems (2 are concerning) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.