雅虎香港財經 Private companies own 19% of WCT Holdings Berhad (KLSE:WCT) shares but individual investors control 41% of the company
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by individual investors in WCT Holdings Berhad indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
The top 10 shareholders own 51% of the company
Every investor in WCT Holdings Berhad (KLSE:WCT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 41% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Private companies, on the other hand, account for 19% of the company's stockholders.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about WCT Holdings Berhad.
Check out our latest analysis for WCT Holdings Berhad
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About WCT Holdings Berhad?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in WCT Holdings Berhad. 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 WCT Holdings Berhad's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
WCT Holdings Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Dominion Nexus Sdn Bhd, with ownership of 18%. Permodalan Nasional Berhad is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and Siew Lim holds about 7.4% of the company stock. Siew Lim, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.
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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of WCT Holdings Berhad
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of WCT Holdings Berhad. It has a market capitalization of just RM751m, and insiders have RM128m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over WCT Holdings Berhad. 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
We can see that Private Companies own 19%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand WCT Holdings Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for WCT Holdings Berhad that you should be aware of.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
