How Much Of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited (SGX:U10) Do Insiders Own?

If you want to know who really controls UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited (SGX:U10), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

UOB-Kay Hian Holdings isn't enormous, but it's not particularly small either. It has a market capitalization of S$1.3b, which means it would generally expect to see some institutions on the share registry. In the chart below, we can see that institutions are not really that prevalent on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about UOB-Kay Hian Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for UOB-Kay Hian Holdings

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About UOB-Kay Hian Holdings?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at 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. UOB-Kay Hian Holdings might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

UOB-Kay Hian Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. United Overseas Bank Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 37% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 20% and 11%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Ee-chao Wee, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. As far I can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just S$1.3b, and insiders have S$338m worth of shares in their own names. I 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 24% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over UOB-Kay Hian Holdings. 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 11%, 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 37% of UOB-Kay Hian Holdings. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with UOB-Kay Hian Holdings (including 2 which are concerning) .

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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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