Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited's (NSE:CHENNPETRO) biggest owners are public companies who got richer after stock soared 7.2% last week

Key Insights

• Chennai Petroleum's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The largest shareholder of the company is Indian Oil Corporation Limited with a 52% stake
• Institutions own 11% of Chennai Petroleum

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A look at the shareholders of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (NSE:CHENNPETRO) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is public companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₹111b market cap following a 7.2% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for Chennai Petroleum

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Chennai Petroleum?

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 Chennai Petroleum 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. 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 Chennai Petroleum's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Chennai Petroleum is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Indian Oil Corporation Limited, with ownership of 52%. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. With 15% and 1.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Iranian Oil Company and ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Chennai Petroleum

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 some shares in Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own ₹2.3b worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 15%, of the company's shares. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 52% of the Chennai Petroleum shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Chennai Petroleum you should know about.

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.