Retail investors among Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited's (NSE:HINDOILEXP) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 10% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over Hindustan Oil Exploration by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 16 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders own 24% of Hindustan Oil Exploration

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited (NSE:HINDOILEXP), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 48% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of retail investors took a hit after last week’s 10% price drop, insiders with their 24% also suffered.

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

View our latest analysis for Hindustan Oil Exploration

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hindustan Oil Exploration?

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.

Hindustan Oil Exploration 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 Hindustan Oil Exploration's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hindustan Oil Exploration. Our data shows that Ashok Kumar Nandkishore Goel is the largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. LCI Estates LLP is the second largest shareholder owning 6.1% of common stock, and Dhoot Industrial Finance Limited holds about 4.7% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Ramasamy Jeevanandam is the owner of 3.2% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 16 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Hindustan Oil Exploration

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited. It has a market capitalization of just ₹24b, and insiders have ₹6.0b worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

With a 48% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hindustan Oil Exploration. 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 13%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 8.5% of the Hindustan Oil Exploration 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Hindustan Oil Exploration 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.