Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) is the most popular among private companies and owns 39% of the shares, institutions hold 35%

Key findings

• The significant private ownership of the Golden Ocean Group suggests that key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public sector
• A total of 4 investors own the majority of the company with 51%
• Institutions own 35% of Golden Ocean Group

A look at the shareholders of Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) tells us which group is the most powerful. The group that owns the most shares of the company, around 39%, are private companies. This means that this group benefits the most when the stock rises (or loses the most when there is a downturn).

And institutions own 35% of the company. Institutions often hold shares in larger companies, and we expect insiders to own a significant amount of the smaller companies.

Let’s dive deeper into each of the Golden Ocean Group’s ownership types, starting with the table below.

Check out our latest analysis for Golden Ocean Group

What does institutional ownership tell us about Golden Ocean Group?

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 their registry, especially if they're growing.

We can see that Golden Ocean Group has institutional investors; and they hold a large portion of the company's shares. This means that the analysts working for these institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But, like anyone, they can be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there is always a risk that they are involved in a “crowd trade.” If such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may be competing to sell the shares quickly. This risk is higher with a company without a growth history. You can see Golden Ocean Group's historical earnings and revenue below, but remember there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds do not have significant investments in Golden Ocean Group. Greenwich Holdings Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 39% of the outstanding shares. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder with 5.4% of the common shares and Folketrygdfondet holds about 3.7% of the company's shares.

To make our study even more interesting, we found that the top four shareholders control more than half of the company, meaning that this group has significant influence on the company's decision-making.

While studying institutional ownership of a company can enrich your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understanding of a stock's expected performance. There are a considerable number of analysts covering the stock, so it could be useful to find out their overall view on the future.

Insider ownership of Golden Ocean Group

The definition of corporate insiders can be subjective and varies by jurisdiction. Our data reflects individual insiders and includes at least board members. Company management is accountable to the board, which should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, top executives are sometimes on the board themselves.

I think insider ownership is generally a good thing. However, in some cases it makes it harder for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our latest data shows that insiders own less than 1% of Golden Ocean Group Limited. However, they could have indirect interests through a corporate structure we haven't detected. Given that this is quite a large company, it's possible that board members own a significant stake in the company without owning a large proportional share. In this case, they own around US$207k worth of shares (at the current price). It's good to see board members own shares, but it might be worth checking to see if those insiders have been buying.

Public property

The general public, usually retail investors, owns a 25% stake in the Golden Ocean Group. While this group does not necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on the company's management.

Private company ownership

We can see that private companies own 39% of the shares outstanding. Private companies can be related parties. Sometimes insiders are involved in a public company through an ownership interest in a private company rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it is difficult to draw any general conclusions, this is an area for further investigation.

Next Steps:

It is always worth thinking about the different groups that own shares in a company. But to better understand Golden Ocean Group, we need to consider many other factors. Note that Golden Ocean Group 3 warning signals in our investment analysis you should know about…

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

NB: The figures in this article are calculated using the last twelve months' data, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last day of the month in which the financial statements are dated. This may not match the figures in the annual report.

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This Simply Wall St article is of a general nature. We comment solely on historical data and analyst forecasts, using an unbiased methodology. Our articles do not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. Our goal is to provide you with long-term analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not take into account the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative materials. Simply Wall St does not hold any of the stocks mentioned.