If you want to know who really controls Welspun Enterprises Limited (NSE:WELENT), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said ‘Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.
Welspun Enterprises is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of ₹7.6b, which means it wouldn’t have the attention of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it’s seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Welspun Enterprises.
View our latest analysis for Welspun Enterprises
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Welspun Enterprises?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors own 12% of Welspun Enterprises. 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. 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 Welspun Enterprises’s historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there’s always more to the story.
Welspun Enterprises is not owned by hedge funds. Welspun Group Master Trust is currently the largest shareholder, with 48% of shares outstanding. Next, we have Dilip Lakhi and Mentor Capital Limited, Asset Management Arm as the second and third largest shareholders, holding 4.5% and 2.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
Our analysis suggests that the top 2 shareholders collectively control 53% of the company’s shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company’s decisions.
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 Welspun Enterprises
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
I can report that insiders do own shares in Welspun Enterprises Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own ₹737m worth of the ₹7.6b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but I usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public, with a 27% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Company Ownership
We can see that Private Companies own 51%, of the shares on issue. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Welspun Enterprises better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We’ve spotted 3 warning signs for Welspun Enterprises you should be aware of.
Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.
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.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.