SHUAA Capital PSC's (DFM:SHUAA) largest shareholders are private companies who were rewarded as market cap surged د.إ109m last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over SHUAA Capital PSC by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 2 shareholders own 57% of the company
• Insider ownership in SHUAA Capital PSC is 30%

If you want to know who really controls SHUAA Capital PSC (DFM:SHUAA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by د.إ109m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SHUAA Capital PSC.

Check out our latest analysis for SHUAA Capital PSC

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SHUAA Capital PSC?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. 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. SHUAA Capital PSC's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SHUAA Capital PSC. From our data, we infer that the largest shareholder is Jassim Mohamad Rafi Alansaari (who also holds the title of Senior Key Executive) with 30% of shares outstanding. Its usually considered a good sign when insiders own a significant number of shares in the company, and in this case, we're glad to see a company insider play the role of a key stakeholder. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 27% and 8.2% of the stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 57% stake.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of SHUAA Capital PSC

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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in SHUAA Capital PSC. Insiders have a د.إ337m stake in this د.إ1.1b business. 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

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 33% stake in SHUAA Capital PSC. 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 36%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand SHUAA Capital PSC better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for SHUAA Capital PSC (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.

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.

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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.