Retail investors who hold 54% of Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE:TEN) gained 10%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Tsakos Energy Navigation indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 43% of the company
• Institutions own 19% of Tsakos Energy Navigation

Our free stock report includes 4 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Tsakos Energy Navigation. Read for free now.

If you want to know who really controls Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (NYSE:TEN), 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 54% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s US$48m market cap gain, institutions too had a 19% share in those profits.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Tsakos Energy Navigation.

Check out our latest analysis for Tsakos Energy Navigation

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Tsakos Energy Navigation?

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.

Tsakos Energy Navigation already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Tsakos Energy Navigation's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Tsakos Energy Navigation. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Nikolas Tsakos with 8.7% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.2% and 4.7% of the stock.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Tsakos Energy Navigation

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 some shares in Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited. It has a market capitalization of just US$504m, and insiders have US$44m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Tsakos Energy Navigation 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 18%, 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Tsakos Energy Navigation (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.