What Kind Of Investor Owns Most Of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (NSE:DHFL)?

Simply Wall St

Every investor in Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (NSE:DHFL) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Institutions will often hold stock in bigger companies, and we expect to see insiders owning a noticeable percentage of the smaller ones. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.

Dewan Housing Finance is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of ₹4.1b, 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 own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Dewan Housing Finance.

Check out our latest analysis for Dewan Housing Finance

NSEI:DHFL Ownership Summary April 21st 2020

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dewan Housing Finance?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors own 12% of Dewan Housing Finance. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Dewan Housing Finance, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

NSEI:DHFL Income Statement April 21st 2020

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Dewan Housing Finance. Wadhawan Group is currently the company's largest shareholder with 37% of shares outstanding. Next, we have Life Insurance Corporation of India, Asset Management Arm and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as the second and third largest shareholders, holding 3.4% and 2.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying the facts and figures more closely, we found that 7 of the top shareholders account for 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Dewan Housing Finance

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.

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 some shares in Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited. In their own names, insiders own ₹182m worth of stock in the ₹4.1b 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 holds a 44% stake in DHFL. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 40%, of the company's shares. 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:

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. Take risks, for example - Dewan Housing Finance has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.

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