Eco World International Berhad's (KLSE:EWINT) market cap surged RM108m last week, public companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Eco World International Berhad's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 2 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 16% of Eco World International Berhad is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Eco World International Berhad (KLSE:EWINT) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit RM1.0b market cap following a 12% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Eco World International Berhad, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Eco World International Berhad

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Eco World International Berhad?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. 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. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Eco World International Berhad, for yourself, below.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Eco World International Berhad. Our data shows that Eco World Development Group Berhad is the largest shareholder with 29% of shares outstanding. With 22% and 11% of the shares outstanding respectively, Paramount Corporation Berhad and Kee Liew are the second and third largest shareholders. Kee Liew, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Vice Chairman. Additionally, the company's CEO Leong Teow directly holds 0.6% of the total shares outstanding.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Eco World International Berhad

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 insiders own a significant proportion of Eco World International Berhad. Insiders have a RM160m stake in this RM1.0b business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Eco World International Berhad. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.7%, of the Eco World International Berhad stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 51% of the Eco World International Berhad shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Eco World International Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Eco World International Berhad has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.