Exploring Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and trying to figure out if the smart money is still in the game, right? You should be asking: with institutional ownership sitting at a staggering 96.93%, what are firms like BlackRock, Inc. (holding about 15.79% of shares) and The Vanguard Group, Inc. (holding about 12.42%) seeing that the retail market might miss? Honestly, it comes down to a clear growth story in a sector that's finally spending again.

The company's third-quarter 2025 results were defintely a signal, with revenue jumping 9% to $743 million and net income surging 73% to $71.3 million. That kind of performance-plus a healthy backlog of $568 million as of September 30, 2025-shows their subsea robotics and engineered products are in high demand. The big players aren't just buying; they're betting on management's full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $391 million to $401 million, which is a solid metric for operational strength. So, are the institutions buying OII for a cyclical turn in energy, or is it a deeper play on their Aerospace and Defense Technologies (ADTech) growth? Let's break down exactly who is holding the stock and their strategic rationale.

Who Invests in Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and Why?

You're looking at Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and trying to figure out who's actually buying this stock, and more importantly, why they're putting their capital to work here. The quick takeaway is that OII is overwhelmingly an institutional play, with nearly 94% of the company owned by big money, mostly for its exposure to the deepwater energy cycle and the high-growth Aerospace and Defense Technologies (ADTech) segment.

This isn't a stock driven by retail investors; it's a professional-grade holding. Institutional investors, which include mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds, own about 93.93% of the outstanding shares. That leaves a small sliver for insiders-executives and directors-at around 1.94%, and the rest is in the hands of us, the individual or retail investors. When institutional ownership is this high, it tells you the stock's price movements are defintely dictated by large, systematic capital flows.

Here's the breakdown of the top institutional players as of the most recent filings in 2025, which shows the dominance of passive index funds:

You see BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. at the top, which is typical for a mid-cap stock. They're primarily holding OII in their index funds, like the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, meaning a huge chunk of the ownership is just following the benchmark.

What's Driving the Investment Thesis?

The primary attraction for investors right now is a combination of cyclical recovery in offshore energy and the strategic diversification into high-margin, non-energy businesses. This isn't just an oil services story anymore. The company's financial performance in the 2025 fiscal year gives them a strong case.

In the third quarter of 2025, Oceaneering International, Inc. reported revenue of $743 million, a solid 9% increase year-over-year, and Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) hit $111 million, which was the highest quarterly performance since late 2015. They're projecting full-year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA to land between $391 million and $401 million. That kind of performance and forward guidance gets the attention of growth-focused funds.

The growth story is really two-fold:

• Energy Cycle Upswing: OII holds a dominant market position, with ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) contracts on 60% of the contracted floating rig market as of September 30, 2025. The subsea robotics segment is a cash-flow machine.
• Defense and Space Expansion: The ADTech segment is a huge catalyst. Its operating income surged by 36% in Q3 2025 alone, driven by new defense contract wins. This segment provides a nice hedge against pure energy volatility.

Honesty, the company is focused on capital return, but not through a dividend. Instead, they repurchased approximately $10 million of common stock in Q3 2025, which enhances shareholder value by reducing the share count. If you're looking for a steady dividend, you won't find it here; the focus is on growth and balance sheet strength.

The Strategies: Value, Growth, and the Passive Giant

The investment strategies at play are a mix, but they all converge on the belief that OII is either undervalued or poised for significant growth in its niche markets. The sheer size of the passive funds like BlackRock, Inc. means a massive portion of the stock is held in a long-term, buy-and-hold fashion, simply tracking the market index. That's the bedrock of the ownership structure.

However, the active managers and hedge funds are employing a more targeted approach. Some are clearly value investors, looking at the company's strong free cash flow generation-$77 million in Q3 2025 alone-and its balance sheet. Here's the quick math: a discounted cash flow (DCF) model recently suggested the stock was trading a substantial 46% below its estimated fair value, which is catnip for a value investor. Other investors are taking a growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) view, betting on the continued expansion of the ADTech business and the long-term tailwinds in the deepwater market, as outlined in the company's Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII).

• Long-Term Holding: Dominant strategy for index funds (BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group, Inc.).
• Value Investing: Driven by strong cash flow and the perceived discount to intrinsic value.
• Growth Investing: Focused on the high-growth ADTech segment and the cyclical recovery in Subsea Robotics.

What this estimate hides is the risk from the global energy transition, which is still a headwind for long-term offshore development. Still, the near-term actions are clear: the market is rewarding the company's execution and its successful pivot to defense and space. The next step for you is to compare OII's projected 2026 EBITDA guidance of $390 million to $440 million against its peers to see if the value thesis holds up.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII)

You want to know who is driving the stock price for Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and why their moves matter. The direct takeaway is that OII is overwhelmingly institutionally owned, with these large funds controlling nearly all the float, making their trading activity a primary catalyst for stock movement.

As of early November 2025, institutional investors-the mutual funds, pension funds, and asset managers-hold an immense stake, accounting for approximately 96.93% of Oceaneering International, Inc.'s outstanding shares. This is an extremely high concentration, meaning that retail investors and company insiders hold a very small piece of the pie. The sheer dominance of this group means you need to watch their filings closely.

Top Institutional Investors and Their Shareholdings

The top institutional holders are the usual suspects in the passive and index fund world, but their positions are massive. These firms are effectively the long-term anchors for OII's valuation. The data from the most recent filings (Q2 and Q3 2025) shows a clear hierarchy of ownership.

Here's the quick math: the top two holders alone account for over a quarter of the total shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the largest, which is defintely typical for a company of this size, but their combined influence is significant.

The total value of institutional holdings was approximately $2.27 billion as of November 2025, based on a total of roughly 100 million shares outstanding.

Recent Shifts in Institutional Ownership

Institutional ownership isn't static; it's a constant tug-of-war that signals conviction-or lack thereof-in OII's near-term outlook. In the most recent quarter (Q2 2025), we saw a flurry of activity: 155 institutional investors added to their positions, while 136 decreased their holdings. That's a lot of churn.

The biggest moves show a split view. On the one hand, a major hedge fund, BALYASNY ASSET MANAGEMENT L.P., dramatically increased its stake, adding 1,227,950 shares-a massive +916.6% increase in Q2 2025. That's a clear vote of confidence in the company's trajectory, especially in its Subsea Robotics and Manufactured Products segments.

• BlackRock, Inc. reduced its holding by 88,297 shares (-0.56%) in Q3 2025.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc. cut its position by 208,084 shares (-1.679%) in Q3 2025.
• Brown Advisory Inc. added 799,718 shares (+12.2%) in Q2 2025.

To be fair, the slight trimming by the passive giants like BlackRock and Vanguard is often just rebalancing their index funds, not a strategic bearish bet. The aggressive buying by active managers like Balyasny is the real signal of a strong conviction play.

Impact of Institutional Investors on OII's Strategy

These large investors play a crucial, dual role: they stabilize the stock price through their sheer size and influence the corporate strategy through engagement. When an institution holds 15% of your company, management listens. Their decisions directly influence the stock's trading volume and price volatility.

The high institutional ownership provides a stable base, but it also amplifies the impact of any major sell-off. The company's recent Q3 2025 results, which showed revenue increasing 9% to $743 million and net income up 73% to $71.3 million, are exactly what these investors are looking for to justify their positions. The company is actively courting them, too, with executives meeting with institutional investors at major conferences throughout November 2025.

This engagement is about aligning the company's long-term vision-which you can explore further in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII)-with the financial expectations of its largest shareholders. The focus is on the Aerospace and Defense Technologies (ADTech) segment, which saw operating income increase 36% in Q3 2025, a key growth area institutional money is betting on.

Next step: Check OII's investor relations page for the updated investor handout from November 17, 2025, to see the latest talking points management is using with these key shareholders.

Key Investors and Their Impact on Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII)

You're looking at Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and trying to figure out who's really calling the shots. The short answer is that the stock is overwhelmingly controlled by institutional money-funds like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc.-which means their influence is less about boardroom activism and more about massive, passive capital flows.

Institutional investors hold a staggering 96.10% of the company's stock, which is a huge concentration of ownership. This structure means individual investors and even company insiders, who own only about 1.94% of the shares, have little direct voting power to influence major strategic decisions. The company is run for the institutions, defintely.

The Passive Giants and Their Near-Term Moves

The largest shareholders in Oceaneering International, Inc. are the global index fund behemoths. These aren't activist investors looking to break up the company; they are mostly passive funds whose primary goal is to mirror the performance of a benchmark index, like the Russell 2000 Value Index, which Oceaneering International, Inc. was added to in February 2025.

The top three institutional holders as of mid-2025 were:

• BlackRock, Inc.: Holding 15,757,116 shares, or 15.79% of the company.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Holding 12,391,524 shares, or 12.42% of the company.
• State Street Global Advisors, Inc.: Holding 4,810,834 shares, or 4.82% of the company.

Their influence comes from the sheer size of their trades. When they rebalance their index funds, it creates a structural tailwind or headwind for the stock, and that's what moves the price in the near term. The inclusion in the Russell 2000 Value Index in Q1 2025, for instance, drove a significant net inflow of capital as passive funds were forced to buy shares.

Recent Capital Shifts and Active Fund Conviction

While the biggest holders are passive, the recent activity in the 2025 fiscal year shows a fascinating mix of large-scale buying and selling from active hedge funds and asset managers. This tells you that sophisticated investors are split on the stock's valuation and growth trajectory, especially as the company focuses on its robotics and defense segments. You can see the company's strategic focus in its Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII).

Here's a snapshot of some of the most notable Q2 2025 moves, which reflect a rotation of capital:

The sale by CONGRESS ASSET MANAGEMENT CO, representing a complete exit from their position, is a big signal, but it was largely offset by aggressive buying from hedge funds like BALYASNY ASSET MANAGEMENT L.P., which increased its stake by over 916%. This suggests a strong active conviction in the company's turnaround and its ability to hit its full-year 2025 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $391 million to $401 million.

Insider Sentiment and Corporate Actions

Insider trading is another window into investor sentiment, and in 2025, it has been primarily selling, though often in small amounts relative to the institutional volume. For example, in September 2025, Director Paul B. Murphy, Jr. sold 10,000 shares at $24.25 each, and SVP and CFO Alan R. Curtis sold 14,840 shares at $24.36 each in August 2025. This isn't a panic sale, but it does show that key executives are taking some money off the table as the stock price has risen.

What's more impactful is the company's own action: Oceaneering International, Inc. has been actively returning capital to shareholders, repurchasing approximately $10 million worth of common stock shares in the third quarter of 2025 alone. This share repurchase program is a direct, management-driven action that boosts earnings per share and signals confidence to the institutional base.

Action Item: Track the Q4 2025 institutional filings (13F reports) when they drop in early 2026 to see if the aggressive buying from active funds like BALYASNY continued, or if the index funds like BlackRock and Vanguard continued to trim their positions.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) and trying to decipher the market's true opinion beyond the daily stock noise. The core investor sentiment right now is a cautious 'Hold' with a clear tilt toward the positive, driven by strong operational execution, not just macro tailwinds.

The institutional conviction is defintely high, with major players holding approximately 93.9% of the outstanding shares. That's a huge block of long-term capital, so you don't see the wild swings you might in a retail-heavy stock. The consensus from six Wall Street firms is a 'Hold' rating, but the average 12-month price target of $25.00 suggests analysts see a modest upside from the current trading range. Honestly, a 'Hold' in this cyclical energy services sector often means 'buy on a dip,' especially when the company is beating earnings.

Here's a quick snapshot of the institutional landscape:

• BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder, holding about 15.7% of the company.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc. follows closely, owning roughly 12.2%.
• Together, these two passive giants anchor a significant portion of the stock.

The sheer size of these institutional positions means their sentiment is less about trading and more about the long-term strategic direction, which for Oceaneering International, Inc. is increasingly focused on their non-energy segments like Aerospace and Defense Technologies (ADTech).

Recent Market Reactions and Ownership Moves

The stock market has been reacting to Oceaneering International, Inc.'s strong fundamental performance, but the reaction isn't always a straight line up. For example, the Q3 2025 earnings report was stellar: revenue jumped 9% to $743 million, and net income surged 73% to $71.3 million compared to the prior year's quarter. That's a massive beat. But still, the stock's one-year return is down about 16% as of November 2025, which shows the market is still weighing the cyclical nature of offshore oil and gas against the company's diversification strategy.

When you look at ownership, you see a bit of a mixed signal, which explains the stock's recent volatility. Institutional inflows (buying) over the last 12 months totaled about $440.14 million, significantly outpacing outflows (selling) of $266.85 million. That net buying is a positive sign. But, you also saw some insider selling, like the Chief Financial Officer, Alan R. Curtis, selling 14,840 shares for roughly $361,500 in August 2025. Insider selling isn't always a red flag-people have reasons-but it's something to note when the stock is trying to break out. The stock is up 4% over the last three months, so it is starting to gain momentum.

For a deeper dive into how the company is structured, you should check out Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Analyst Perspectives: The Growth Drivers

Analysts are generally looking past the traditional Subsea Robotics (SSR) business-though it's still a cash cow-and focusing on the higher-margin segments. This is where the future growth story lies. The consensus 2025 full-year Earnings Per Share (EPS) forecast is about $1.78. That's a solid number, but the real excitement is in the backlog conversion.

Here's the quick math on what's driving the positive revisions:

TD Cowen, for instance, recently raised their price target to $27.00, citing the robust performance in the Advanced Technologies and Offshore Projects segments. The key takeaway is that the market is beginning to assign a higher multiple (a higher valuation) to the company's non-oil and gas business, which is a structural shift. The long-term upside is tied to the company's ability to keep growing ADTech and Manufactured Products, providing a buffer against the volatility of the core energy business.