Key Insights

• Significant control over Odyssey Marine Exploration by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 20 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership

A look at the shareholders of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMEX) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 47% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions who own 22% came under pressure after market cap dropped to US$105m last week,retail investors took the most losses.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Odyssey Marine Exploration.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Odyssey Marine Exploration?

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 Odyssey Marine Exploration does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Odyssey Marine Exploration's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 16% of Odyssey Marine Exploration. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The company's largest shareholder is Two Seas Capital LP, with ownership of 8.2%. Greywolf Capital Management LP is the second largest shareholder owning 7.5% of common stock, and Juan Cortina holds about 7.1% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Mark Gordon directly holds 0.9% of the total shares outstanding.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 20 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Odyssey Marine Exploration

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.. Insiders have a US$16m stake in this US$105m business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 47% stake in Odyssey Marine Exploration. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 4 warning signs with Odyssey Marine Exploration (at least 3 which are potentially serious) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.

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.