Despite selling recently, Info Edge (India) Limited (NSE:NAUKRI) insiders own 38% stake and recent decline might have cost them

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Info Edge (India) implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Info Edge (India) Limited (NSE:NAUKRI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 38% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company. As a result, they were also the group to endure the biggest losses as the stock fell by 6.6%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Info Edge (India).

Check out our latest analysis for Info Edge (India)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Info Edge (India)?

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.

Info Edge (India) already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Info Edge (India)'s historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Info Edge (India) is not owned by hedge funds. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Info Edge (India)'s case, its Top Key Executive, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, is the largest shareholder, holding 24% of shares outstanding. Endeavour Holding Trust is the second largest shareholder owning 6.2% of common stock, and Hitesh Oberoi holds about 5.0% of the company stock. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Hitesh Oberoi is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Info Edge (India)

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Info Edge (India) Limited. It has a market capitalization of just ₹824b, and insiders have ₹310b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. 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 19% 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.2%, of the company's shares. 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. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Info Edge (India) that 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.