Private companies are Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC's (ADX:ADSB) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped د.إ117m

Key Insights

• Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 59% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC (ADX:ADSB), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And following last week's 10% decline in share price, private companies suffered the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC, for yourself, below.

Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is EDGE Group PJSC with 50% of shares outstanding. Mohamed Al Qassimi is the second largest shareholder owning 8.8% of common stock, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP holds about 0.4% of the company stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC. In their own names, insiders own د.إ91m worth of stock in the د.إ1.0b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 50%, of the company's shares. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Abu Dhabi Ship Building PJSC that 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.

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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.