Insiders the biggest winners as Tamar Petroleum Ltd's (TLV:TMRP) market cap rises to ₪3.0b

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Tamar Petroleum implies vested interests in company growth
• 62% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 17% of Tamar Petroleum is held by Institutions

Our free stock report includes 4 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Tamar Petroleum. Read for free now.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Tamar Petroleum Ltd (TLV:TMRP), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 8.0% gain.

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

See our latest analysis for Tamar Petroleum

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Tamar Petroleum?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Tamar Petroleum already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Tamar Petroleum's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Tamar Petroleum. Ahron Gover Frenkel is currently the largest shareholder, with 25% of shares outstanding. With 25% and 12% of the shares outstanding respectively, Elyahu Azur and Menora Mivtachim Provident Funds 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.

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. 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 Tamar Petroleum

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Tamar Petroleum Ltd. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. That means they own ₪1.7b worth of shares in the ₪3.0b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 26% 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.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Tamar Petroleum (including 2 which are a bit concerning) .

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.