The recent 14% gain must have brightened CEO Karuturi Chowdary's week, Apex Frozen Foods Limited's (NSE:APEX) most bullish insider

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Apex Frozen Foods' growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 59% ownership
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Apex Frozen Foods Limited (NSE:APEX) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 73% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, insiders benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by ₹994m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Apex Frozen Foods, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Apex Frozen Foods

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Apex Frozen Foods?

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.

Less than 5% of Apex Frozen Foods is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Apex Frozen Foods. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Karuturi Chowdary with 31% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 29% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 13% by the third-largest shareholder.

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 59% 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Apex Frozen Foods

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.

It seems that insiders own more than half the Apex Frozen Foods Limited stock. This gives them a lot of power. That means they own ₹6.1b worth of shares in the ₹8.3b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 23% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Apex Frozen Foods you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.