Private companies among SJM Holdings Limited's (HKG:880) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 6.5% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over SJM Holdings by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is Macau Tourism And Amusement Company Limited with a 55% stake
• 12% of SJM Holdings is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls SJM Holdings Limited (HKG:880), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, private companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 6.5%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of SJM Holdings, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for SJM Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SJM Holdings?

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.

SJM Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 SJM Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

SJM Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Macau Tourism And Amusement Company Limited, with ownership of 55%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.5% by the third-largest shareholder. On Kei Leong, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of SJM Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in SJM Holdings Limited. Insiders own HK$1.9b worth of shares in the HK$16b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over SJM Holdings. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 55%, of the SJM Holdings stock. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with SJM Holdings .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.