Retail investors invested in Oceanus Group Limited (SGX:579) copped the brunt of last week's S$26m market cap decline

Key Insights

• Oceanus Group's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 14 shareholders own 43% of the company
• 11% of Oceanus Group is held by insiders

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Every investor in Oceanus Group Limited (SGX:579) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As market cap fell to S$129m last week, retail investors would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

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

See our latest analysis for Oceanus Group

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Oceanus Group?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Oceanus Group might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Oceanus Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Alacrity Investment Group Limited with 17% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.0% by the third-largest shareholder. Heng Kang Koh, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Our studies suggest that the top 14 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. 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 Oceanus Group

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.

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 Oceanus Group Limited. Insiders have a S$14m stake in this S$129m business. 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

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 57% of Oceanus Group shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 31%, of the Oceanus Group stock. 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 Oceanus Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Oceanus Group (including 2 which are concerning) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.