Institutional investors have a lot riding on Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) with 32% ownership

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Sable Offshore implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 52% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• 29% of Sable Offshore is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 32% 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).

And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$828m in market cap. The one-year return on investment is currently 34% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Sable Offshore

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sable Offshore?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Sable Offshore already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Sable Offshore, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 19% of Sable Offshore shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. With a 17% stake, CEO James Flores is the largest shareholder. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 15% and 13%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. 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 Sable Offshore

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. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Sable Offshore Corp.. It has a market capitalization of just US$828m, and insiders have US$244m 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 20% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sable Offshore. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Sable Offshore that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.