In the wake of Scorpio Tankers Inc.'s (NYSE:STNG) latest US$215m market cap drop, institutional owners may be forced to take severe actions

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Scorpio Tankers' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• A total of 17 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

If you want to know who really controls Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 75% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by US$215m. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 35% for stockholders, may not sit well with this group of investors. Often called “market movers", institutions wield significant power in influencing the price dynamics of any stock. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Scorpio Tankers which might hurt individual investors.

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

See our latest analysis for Scorpio Tankers

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Scorpio Tankers?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Scorpio Tankers. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Scorpio Tankers' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Scorpio Tankers. Our data shows that Scorpio Holdings Limited is the largest shareholder with 7.8% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.4% and 5.9% of the stock. Furthermore, CEO Emanuele Lauro is the owner of 1.3% of the company's shares.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 51% of the ownership is controlled by the top 17 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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Scorpio Tankers

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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Scorpio Tankers Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$156m 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

With a 10% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Scorpio Tankers. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 7.8%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

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 for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Scorpio Tankers (at least 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.