Yahoo Finance Institutional owners may take dramatic actions as Harbour Energy plc's (LON:HBR) recent 3.5% drop adds to one-year losses
If you want to know who really controls Harbour Energy plc (LON:HBR), 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 77% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's share price fell by 3.5% last week. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 12% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Harbour Energy which might hurt individual investors.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Harbour Energy, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Harbour Energy
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Harbour Energy?
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.
We can see that Harbour Energy 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. 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 Harbour Energy, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
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 Harbour Energy. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Noble Group Limited with 9.5% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are BlackRock, Inc. and GIC Private Limited, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 4.1%. In addition, we found that Linda Cook, the CEO has 0.8% of the shares allocated to their name.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Harbour Energy
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Harbour Energy plc. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own UK£35m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 12% stake in Harbour Energy. 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.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 10%, of the Harbour Energy stock. 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Harbour Energy better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Harbour Energy (at least 1 which is a bit unpleasant) , 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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
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