Positive week for SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SMHI) institutional investors who lost 40% over the past year

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, SEACOR Marine Holdings' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 17 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insider ownership in SEACOR Marine Holdings is 12%

If you want to know who really controls SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SMHI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Last week's US$26m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 40% losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SEACOR Marine Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for SEACOR Marine Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SEACOR Marine Holdings?

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.

We can see that SEACOR Marine Holdings 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 SEACOR Marine Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SEACOR Marine Holdings. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 6.4%. The second and third largest shareholders are Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and The Vanguard Group, Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 4.9%. Additionally, the company's CEO John Gellert directly holds 4.0% of the total shares outstanding.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 17 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of SEACOR Marine Holdings

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

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc.. Insiders have a US$24m stake in this US$190m business. 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-- including retail investors -- own 33% 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for SEACOR Marine Holdings you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.