Painful week for individual investors invested in Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) after 5.3% drop, institutions also suffered losses

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Star Bulk Carriers indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 47% of the company
• Institutions own 33% of Star Bulk Carriers

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If you want to know who really controls Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 45% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While the holdings of individual investors took a hit after last week’s 5.3% price drop, institutions with their 33% holdings also suffered.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Star Bulk Carriers.

View our latest analysis for Star Bulk Carriers

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Star Bulk Carriers?

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.

We can see that Star Bulk Carriers 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. 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 Star Bulk Carriers' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Star Bulk Carriers. The company's largest shareholder is C.K. Limited, with ownership of 11%. Danaos Corporation is the second largest shareholder owning 5.2% of common stock, and Brookfield Corporation holds about 4.6% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Petros Pappas directly holds 3.6% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Star Bulk Carriers

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. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Star Bulk Carriers Corp.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$70m 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 45% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 13%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 5.2% of the Star Bulk Carriers shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Star Bulk Carriers is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.